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The movie boasts a talented ensemble, telling the real-life story of coach Brendan Ingle, who mentored a cheeky Sheffield teenager from Yemeni migrant family. Known as Naseem Hamed, the fighter was taught to stand up to racist bullies and transformed into a media-friendly titleholder in the 1990s. The trainer cultivated his flamboyant confidence and powerful punches, but after becoming rich, Hamed turned against his mentor, excluding him and turning him into a blend of John Falstaff and Danny Rose.

Performers and Roles

Brosnan portrays the trainer; El-Masry takes on the role of the prince, and Stephens is the assertive promoter Warren, who saw the potential that the coach had uncovered.

Where the Movie Falls Short

Yet, the film honestly lacks the Prince’s agility: the fight scenes run smoothly, but the all-important story in between is consistently flat and monotonous. There is no subtlety or contrast in the portrayal of Hamed himself, and El-Masry, an otherwise excellent talent, doesn’t get the chance to display any subtlety or much of what might make his character truly engaging – even though he’s obviously been working out and appears convincing in the ring.

Problems with Script and Sound

The drama is repeatedly lumbered with functional, expositional dialogue that inform you precisely what is happening and what we are supposed to be thinking (“You started your career at age seven …”). This is the sort of dialogue that streaming-TV producers call “second-screen”, ensuring you understand what’s unfolding while you’re viewing the movie but also checking your device. And, the score is overpowering, at times almost overwhelming, especially in the moment where the boxer gets too excited visiting Warren in his luxurious residence.

Acting and Pivotal Scenes

While El-Masry and Brosnan do their considerable utmost, their relationship never really comes to life, and the big set-piece boxing moments are often disappointingly truncated. The most important scene is certainly when, goaded past his limit in the training facility one day by the boxer as a misguided “old man”, the trainer in fact proposes to get in the ring and box him. Everyone in the gym is stunned and uneasy. How exactly is this extremely unwise standoff going to unfold? What will be the ending? Surely the champion is going to kill him? Alternatively will he sentimentally pull his punches? The resolution remains ambiguous.

Highlights and Humor

That’s not to say that there are no some good moments. The actor gets laughs when Ingle tells a reporter what he’s instructing the youths from his neighborhood: to reject bias and when you encounter a offender, “Hit them in the groin”. It’s funny too when Hamed squirms at the silly stunts Ingle makes him do in the beginning: acting like the “monster from the Middle East”.

Plot and Conclusion

As for the falling out, the film shows this as being worsened by a tell-all publication that the trainer is supposed to have authored (a plot point clearly adapted from another source), and there is an interestingly conceived last discussion – although the heartfelt homage that the boxer is reportedly given to Ingle after his passing is only mentioned in the end titles, and not shown on screen. There is interesting material here, but the blows don’t land.

The film was shown at the London film festival and is available in British and Irish theaters from 9 January.