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The movie features a talented cast, depicting the true story of coach Brendan Ingle, who mentored a brash Yorkshire youth from Middle Eastern immigrant family. Dubbed “Prince” Naseem Hamed, the youngster was coached to stand up to prejudice and molded into a media-friendly titleholder in the late 90s. Ingle nurtured his showboating arrogance and lethal fists, but after achieving wealth, the boxer turned against his mentor, cutting him out and turning him into a blend of John Falstaff and Danny Rose.

Cast and Characters

Brosnan plays Ingle; El-Masry takes on the part of the prince, and Stephens is the bullish London promoter Warren, who saw the potential that Ingle had discovered.

Where the Movie Falls Short

However, the film frankly misses the fighter’s agility: the fight scenes run smoothly, but the all-important story in between is repeatedly flat and one-note. There is no nuance or contrast in the portrayal of Hamed himself, and the actor, an otherwise outstanding performer, doesn’t get the chance to display any depth or much of what might make his character really interesting – even though he’s obviously been working out and looks very plausible in the ring.

Dialogue and Music Issues

The drama is repeatedly burdened by functional, explanatory lines that tell you exactly what is happening and what we are meant to feel (“You started your boxing journey at age seven …”). It is the kind of dialogue that streaming-TV producers call “double-screen”, making sure you know what’s unfolding while you’re viewing the movie but also checking your device. Additionally, the background music is overbearing, sometimes almost overwhelming, especially in the scene where Hamed gets too excited visiting Warren in his luxurious home.

Acting and Pivotal Scenes

While the leads do their considerable best, their dynamic doesn’t quite comes to life, and the big set-piece boxing moments are often anticlimactically cut short. The most important scene is certainly when, goaded beyond endurance in the training facility one day by Hamed as a misguided “old man”, Ingle in fact proposes to step into the ring and box him. All present in the gym is shocked and uneasy. In what way is this insanely risky confrontation going to play out? How precisely the ending? Certainly the Prince is going to defeat him? Or will he sentimentally pull his punches? The resolution remains ambiguous.

Highlights and Humor

That’s not to say that there aren’t some good moments. The actor gets laughs when Ingle informs a reporter what he’s instructing the kids from his local community: to oppose prejudice and when you encounter a paedophile, “Hit them in the bollocks”. Amusing too when the boxer squirms at the ridiculous stunts the coach makes him do in the beginning: acting like the “monster from the Middle East”.

Plot and Conclusion

Regarding the falling out, the movie depicts this as being worsened by a revealing publication that Ingle is supposed to have written (a story element evidently adapted from another source), and there is an intriguingly conceived last discussion – although the heartfelt homage that Hamed is reportedly paid to Ingle after his death is only referenced in the end titles, and not shown on screen. Some interesting material here, but the blows don’t land.

The film screened at the festival and is in British and Irish cinemas from January 9.