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The movie features a impressive ensemble, depicting the real-life story of coach Ingle, who guided a brash Sheffield teenager from Middle Eastern migrant family. Dubbed “Prince” Naseem Hamed, the fighter was taught to stand up to prejudice and molded into a celebrity titleholder in the late 90s. Ingle nurtured his flamboyant confidence and lethal fists, but after becoming rich, Hamed turned against his coach, excluding him and making him a mix of Falstaff and Broadway Danny Rose.

Performers and Roles

Pierce Brosnan plays Ingle; Amir El-Masry embodies the part of Hamed, and Stephens appears as the assertive London promoter Warren, who recognized the goldmine that the coach had discovered.

Film’s Shortcomings

However, the film honestly lacks the fighter’s fancy footwork: the fight scenes flow well, but the all-important drama in between is consistently dull and one-note. There is no subtlety or light and shade in the depiction of the protagonist himself, and El-Masry, an otherwise excellent talent, isn’t given the opportunity to show any subtlety or much of what might make his character truly engaging – although he’s obviously been working out and appears convincing in the ring.

Problems with Script and Sound

The drama is repeatedly burdened by functional, explanatory lines that tell you precisely what is happening and what we are meant to feel (“You started your boxing journey at age seven …”). It is the kind of script that streaming-TV executives call “second-screen”, making sure you know what’s going on while you’re viewing the film but also glancing at your device. And, the background music is overbearing, at times almost overwhelming, particularly in the scene where the boxer gets too excited calling on Warren in his luxurious home.

Performances and Key Moments

While the leads do their very best, their dynamic doesn’t quite comes to life, and the major boxing moments are often disappointingly cut short. A key moment is surely when, goaded beyond endurance in the training facility one day by Hamed as a delusional “elder”, Ingle in fact offers to step into the ring and box him. All present in the gym is shocked and uneasy. In what way is this extremely unwise standoff going to unfold? What will be the ending? Certainly the champion is going to defeat him? Alternatively will he sentimentally hold back? It’s not clear.

Bright Spots and Comedy

That’s not to say that there aren’t some good moments. The actor elicits humor when Ingle tells a reporter what he’s instructing the youths from his neighborhood: to oppose prejudice and when you meet a paedophile, “Punch him in the groin”. It’s funny too when Hamed squirms at the silly antics the coach makes him do in the beginning: posing as the “beast from the East”.

Storyline and Final Thoughts

As for the rift, the movie shows this as being exacerbated by a tell-all book that Ingle is supposed to have written (a plot point evidently modified from prior material), and there is an interestingly imagined final conversation – however the emotional tribute that Hamed is supposed to have given to Ingle after his passing is only mentioned in the closing credits, and not dramatised on screen. Some interesting material in this film, but the punches don’t land.

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