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The movie boasts a impressive ensemble, telling the true tale of Irish boxing trainer Brendan Ingle, who guided a brash Yorkshire youth from Yemeni migrant family. Dubbed “Prince” Naseem Hamed, the youngster was taught to stand up to racist bullies and molded into a media-friendly titleholder in the late 90s. Ingle cultivated his showboating confidence and lethal fists, but after becoming rich, Hamed turned against his mentor, excluding him and making him a blend of Falstaff and Broadway Danny Rose.

Cast and Characters

Pierce Brosnan portrays Ingle; Amir El-Masry embodies the role of the prince, and Toby Stephens is the bullish promoter Warren, who saw the goldmine that Ingle had discovered.

Where the Movie Falls Short

Yet, the movie honestly misses the Prince’s fancy footwork: the fight scenes run smoothly, but the all-important story between them is repeatedly flat and monotonous. There is no nuance or contrast in the portrayal of the protagonist himself, and El-Masry, an otherwise excellent talent, doesn’t get the chance to show any depth or much of what might make his character truly engaging – although he’s clearly been training and appears convincing in the ring.

Problems with Script and Sound

The story is repeatedly lumbered with functional, expositional dialogue that inform you exactly what is going on and what we are meant to feel (“Your journey began your career at seven years old …”). It is the sort of dialogue that digital producers call “second-screen”, making sure you know what’s going on while you’re viewing the film but also checking your device. And, the score is overpowering, sometimes nearly deafening, especially in the moment where Hamed gets overexcited calling on the promoter in his luxurious home.

Acting and Pivotal Scenes

Although the leads do their very utmost, their relationship doesn’t quite comes to life, and the major fight scenes are often anticlimactically cut short. A key moment is surely when, provoked beyond endurance in the gym one day by the boxer as a delusional “elder”, the trainer actually offers to step into the ring and box him. Everyone in the gym is stunned and uncomfortable. How exactly is this extremely unwise confrontation going to unfold? What will be the ending? Certainly the Prince is going to kill him? Or will he sentimentally pull his punches? It’s not clear.

Bright Spots and Comedy

That’s not to say that there aren’t some nice jabs. Brosnan gets laughs when Ingle tells a journalist what he’s instructing the youths from his local community: to oppose bias and when you meet a paedophile, “Punch him in the bollocks”. Amusing too when the boxer fidgets at the silly antics Ingle makes him do in the beginning: acting like the “beast from the Middle East”.

Storyline and Final Thoughts

Regarding the falling out, the film shows this as being exacerbated by a revealing publication that the trainer is allegedly written (a plot point evidently adapted from prior material), and there is an interestingly imagined last discussion – although the heartfelt homage that the boxer is reportedly given to Ingle after his passing is only mentioned in the closing credits, and not shown on screen. Some engaging content in this film, but the blows don’t land.

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