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The movie boasts a talented cast, telling the real-life story of Irish boxing trainer Ingle, who guided a cheeky Sheffield youth from Yemeni migrant family. Known as “Prince” Naseem Hamed, the youngster was taught to confront prejudice and transformed into a celebrity world champion in the 1990s. Ingle nurtured his flamboyant confidence and lethal fists, but after becoming rich, Hamed betrayed his mentor, cutting him out and turning him into a blend of Falstaff and Danny Rose.

Performers and Roles

Pierce Brosnan plays the trainer; Amir El-Masry embodies the role of Hamed, and Stephens appears as the assertive London promoter Frank Warren, who recognized the potential that the coach had uncovered.

Where the Movie Falls Short

Yet, the film honestly lacks the fighter’s agility: the boxing sequences flow well, but the crucial story in between is repeatedly dull and one-note. There is no nuance or contrast in the depiction of Hamed himself, and El-Masry, an otherwise outstanding performer, doesn’t get the chance to show any depth or much of what might make his role truly engaging – although he’s clearly been working out and looks very plausible in the boxing arena.

Problems with Script and Sound

The drama is often lumbered with functional, expositional dialogue that inform you precisely what is going on and what we are supposed to be thinking (“You started your career at age seven …”). It is the kind of script that digital executives call “second-screen”, ensuring you know what’s unfolding while you’re viewing the movie but also checking your phone. Additionally, the score is overpowering, sometimes almost deafening, especially in the scene where the boxer gets overexcited calling on the promoter in his palatial residence.

Performances and Key Moments

Although El-Masry and Brosnan do their very utmost, their relationship doesn’t quite comes to life, and the major boxing moments are often disappointingly cut short. The most important moment is certainly when, goaded past his limit in the gym one day by Hamed as a misguided “old man”, Ingle in fact proposes to step into the ring and fight him. All present in the room is shocked and uneasy. In what way is this extremely unwise standoff going to unfold? How precisely the outcome? Surely the champion is going to defeat him? Or will he emotionally pull his punches? The resolution remains ambiguous.

Highlights and Humor

This isn’t to imply that there are no some nice jabs. The actor elicits humor when Ingle tells a journalist what he’s instructing the kids from his local community: to oppose bias and when you encounter a offender, “Hit them in the groin”. Amusing too when the boxer squirms at the silly antics Ingle makes him do in the early days: posing as the “monster from the Middle East”.

Plot and Conclusion

Regarding the rift, the movie depicts this as being exacerbated by a tell-all book that Ingle is allegedly authored (a plot point evidently modified from another source), and there is an interestingly imagined last discussion – however the heartfelt homage that the boxer is reportedly paid to his mentor after his death is only referenced in the end titles, and not dramatised on screen. There is interesting material in this film, but the punches don’t land.

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