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The movie features a impressive ensemble, depicting the true tale of Irish boxing trainer Ingle, who mentored a brash Yorkshire teenager from Yemeni migrant parents. Known as “Prince” Naseem Hamed, the fighter was coached to confront racist bullies and transformed into a media-friendly world champion in the late 90s. The trainer nurtured his flamboyant arrogance and lethal fists, but after becoming rich, the boxer betrayed his coach, cutting him out and turning him into a mix of Falstaff and Danny Rose.

Cast and Characters

Pierce Brosnan plays the trainer; El-Masry takes on the role of the prince, and Toby Stephens appears as the bullish London promoter Warren, who saw the goldmine that Ingle had uncovered.

Where the Movie Falls Short

Yet, the film honestly lacks the fighter’s fancy footwork: the fight scenes run smoothly, but the crucial story between them is repeatedly flat and monotonous. It lacks subtlety or contrast in the depiction of the protagonist himself, and the actor, an otherwise outstanding performer, doesn’t get the chance to show any subtlety or much of what might make his role really interesting – even though he’s clearly been working out and appears convincing in the boxing arena.

Problems with Script and Sound

The drama is often burdened by functional, explanatory lines that inform you exactly what is happening and what we are supposed to be thinking (“Your journey began your career at age seven …”). This is the sort of script that streaming-TV producers call “second-screen”, ensuring you know what’s unfolding while you’re viewing the film but also checking your device. Additionally, the background music is overbearing, sometimes nearly deafening, particularly in the scene where Hamed gets overexcited visiting Warren in his palatial home.

Acting and Pivotal Scenes

While El-Masry and Brosnan do their very utmost, their dynamic never really comes to life, and the big set-piece fight scenes are often anticlimactically truncated. The most important moment is surely when, goaded past his limit in the gym one day by Hamed as a misguided “old man”, Ingle actually offers to step into the ring and box him. All present in the gym is stunned and uneasy. How exactly is this insanely unwise standoff going to play out? How precisely the outcome? Surely the Prince is going to defeat him? Alternatively will he emotionally pull his punches? The resolution remains ambiguous.

Bright Spots and Comedy

That’s not to say that there are no some good moments. Brosnan gets laughs when Ingle informs a reporter what he’s teaching the kids from his neighborhood: to reject prejudice and when you encounter a offender, “Punch him in the bollocks”. Amusing too when Hamed squirms at the ridiculous stunts the coach makes him do in the early days: posing as the “monster from the East”.

Storyline and Final Thoughts

Regarding the rift, the film depicts this as being exacerbated by a tell-all publication that Ingle is allegedly written (a story element evidently modified from prior material), and there is an intriguingly conceived final conversation – however the heartfelt homage that Hamed is supposed to have paid to Ingle after his passing is only referenced in the closing credits, and not shown on film. There is engaging content in this film, but the blows don’t land.

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