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This film boasts a talented ensemble, telling the true tale of coach Brendan Ingle, who mentored a cheeky Sheffield teenager from Yemeni immigrant parents. Dubbed “Prince” Naseem Hamed, the youngster was coached to stand up to prejudice and molded into a celebrity world champion in the 1990s. Ingle cultivated his flamboyant arrogance and powerful punches, but after becoming rich, the boxer turned against his mentor, excluding him and turning him into a mix of John Falstaff and Danny Rose.

Performers and Roles

Brosnan plays the trainer; Amir El-Masry takes on the role of Hamed, and Toby Stephens is the bullish promoter Frank Warren, who saw the potential that Ingle had discovered.

Where the Movie Falls Short

Yet, the movie frankly misses the fighter’s fancy footwork: the boxing sequences run smoothly, but the all-important drama in between is repeatedly flat and monotonous. It lacks nuance or contrast in the depiction of the protagonist himself, and the actor, an otherwise outstanding performer, isn’t given the chance to show any depth or much of what might make his role really interesting – even though he’s clearly been working out and looks very plausible in the ring.

Problems with Script and Sound

The story is repeatedly burdened by utilitarian, explanatory lines that inform you precisely what is going on and what we are meant to feel (“Your journey began your career at age seven …”). This is the kind of script that streaming-TV executives call “double-screen”, ensuring you know what’s going on while you’re watching the movie but also glancing at your phone. And, the score is overpowering, at times almost overwhelming, particularly in the moment where Hamed gets too excited calling on Warren in his palatial home.

Acting and Pivotal Scenes

While the leads do their considerable utmost, their dynamic never really ignites, and the big set-piece fight scenes are often anticlimactically cut short. A key moment is surely when, provoked past his limit in the training facility one day by the boxer as a delusional “old man”, Ingle in fact offers to get in the ring and box him. All present in the gym is shocked and uneasy. In what way is this insanely risky confrontation going to play out? What will be the outcome? Certainly the Prince is going to defeat him? Alternatively will he emotionally pull his punches? It’s not clear.

Bright Spots and Comedy

That’s not to say that there are no some nice jabs. Brosnan elicits humor when his character informs a reporter what he’s teaching the youths from his local community: to oppose bias and when you meet a paedophile, “Punch him in the groin”. Amusing too when Hamed squirms at the ridiculous antics Ingle makes him do in the early days: acting like the “monster from the East”.

Plot and Conclusion

Regarding the rift, the movie depicts this as being exacerbated by a tell-all publication that the trainer is allegedly written (a story element evidently adapted from another source), and there is an intriguingly imagined last discussion – however the heartfelt homage that the boxer is supposed to have given to his mentor after his passing is merely mentioned in the end titles, and not dramatised on screen. Some interesting material here, but the punches fail to connect.

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