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This film boasts a talented cast, telling the true tale of coach Brendan Ingle, who guided a cheeky Yorkshire teenager from Yemeni immigrant family. Known as Naseem Hamed, the youngster was taught to confront prejudice and transformed into a media-friendly titleholder in the late 90s. The trainer nurtured his flamboyant arrogance and powerful punches, but after becoming rich, the boxer betrayed his coach, excluding him and making him a blend of Falstaff and Danny Rose.

Performers and Roles

Pierce Brosnan plays Ingle; El-Masry embodies the role of Hamed, and Toby Stephens is the bullish London promoter Frank Warren, who recognized the goldmine that the coach had uncovered.

Where the Movie Falls Short

Yet, the film honestly misses the Prince’s fancy footwork: the boxing sequences run smoothly, but the crucial story in between is repeatedly dull and one-note. There is no subtlety or light and shade in the depiction of Hamed himself, and the actor, an otherwise outstanding performer, isn’t given the chance to display any depth or much of what might make his role really interesting – even though he’s obviously been training and looks very plausible in the ring.

Problems with Script and Sound

The drama is often lumbered with functional, explanatory lines that inform you precisely what is happening and what we are meant to feel (“Your journey began your boxing journey at age seven …”). It is the kind of dialogue that digital producers call “second-screen”, making sure you understand what’s going on while you’re viewing the movie but also glancing at your phone. And, the score is overbearing, at times almost deafening, particularly in the scene where the boxer gets overexcited visiting Warren in his luxurious residence.

Acting and Pivotal Scenes

While El-Masry and Brosnan do their considerable best, their relationship doesn’t quite ignites, and the major fight scenes are frequently anticlimactically cut short. The most important moment is surely when, provoked past his limit in the gym one day by the boxer as a delusional “old man”, Ingle actually proposes to get in the ring and fight him. Everyone in the gym is shocked and uneasy. How exactly is this extremely unwise standoff going to play out? How precisely the ending? Surely the Prince is going to defeat him? Alternatively 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 his character tells a journalist what he’s teaching the kids from his local community: to oppose prejudice and when you encounter a paedophile, “Hit them in the bollocks”. It’s funny too when the boxer fidgets at the ridiculous antics Ingle makes him do in the beginning: acting like the “beast from the Middle East”.

Storyline and Final Thoughts

As for the rift, the film shows this as being exacerbated by a revealing book that the trainer is supposed to have written (a story element clearly modified from prior material), and there is an interestingly imagined final conversation – however the heartfelt homage that Hamed is supposed to have given to his mentor after his death is only mentioned in the closing credits, and not shown on screen. Some interesting material in this film, but the punches don’t land.

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