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This film features a talented cast, depicting the true tale of Irish boxing trainer Brendan Ingle, who guided a brash Sheffield teenager from Middle Eastern immigrant family. Known as Naseem Hamed, the youngster was taught to stand up to racist bullies and transformed into a media-friendly titleholder in the 1990s. The trainer cultivated his flamboyant arrogance and powerful punches, but after becoming rich, Hamed turned against his coach, 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 takes on the part of the prince, and Stephens appears as the assertive promoter Frank Warren, who saw the goldmine that the coach had uncovered.

Film’s Shortcomings

Yet, the movie frankly misses the Prince’s fancy footwork: the fight scenes run smoothly, but the all-important story in between is repeatedly flat and monotonous. There is no subtlety or contrast in the depiction of the protagonist himself, and El-Masry, an otherwise excellent talent, isn’t given the chance to display any subtlety or much of what might make his role really interesting – even though he’s obviously been training and appears convincing in the ring.

Problems with Script and Sound

The story is often burdened by functional, explanatory lines that tell you exactly what is going on and what we are meant to feel (“Your journey began your career at age seven …”). It is the kind of script that digital producers call “second-screen”, making sure you know what’s going on while you’re watching the film but also checking your phone. Additionally, the score is overbearing, at times almost deafening, particularly in the scene where the boxer gets overexcited calling on Warren in his palatial home.

Acting and Pivotal Scenes

While El-Masry and Brosnan do their considerable utmost, their dynamic never really ignites, and the major boxing moments are frequently anticlimactically truncated. A key moment is surely when, provoked past his limit in the gym one day by Hamed as a delusional “elder”, Ingle in fact proposes to step into the ring and fight him. Everyone in the gym is stunned and uncomfortable. In what way is this insanely risky confrontation going to unfold? What will be the outcome? Surely the champion is going to defeat him? Or will he emotionally pull his punches? The resolution remains ambiguous.

Bright Spots and Comedy

This isn’t to imply that there are no some good moments. The actor gets laughs when his character informs a journalist what he’s instructing the youths from his local community: to oppose bias and when you encounter a offender, “Hit them in the bollocks”. It’s funny too when the boxer fidgets at the ridiculous stunts Ingle makes him do in the early days: posing as the “beast from the East”.

Storyline and Final Thoughts

Regarding the falling out, the film shows this as being worsened by a revealing book that the trainer is allegedly authored (a plot point clearly adapted from prior material), and there is an interestingly imagined final conversation – however the emotional tribute that the boxer is reportedly given to his mentor after his death is merely mentioned in the closing credits, and not dramatised on screen. There is interesting material here, but the blows fail to connect.

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