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The movie features a talented cast, telling the true tale of coach Brendan Ingle, who mentored a brash Yorkshire teenager from Middle Eastern immigrant parents. Known as “Prince” Naseem Hamed, the fighter was taught to confront racist bullies and transformed into a celebrity world champion in the 1990s. Ingle nurtured his flamboyant arrogance and powerful punches, but after achieving wealth, the boxer turned against his mentor, excluding him and turning him into a mix of Falstaff and Danny Rose.

Performers and Roles

Pierce Brosnan portrays Ingle; El-Masry takes on the role of Hamed, and Toby Stephens appears as the bullish London promoter Frank Warren, who recognized the goldmine that Ingle had uncovered.

Where the Movie Falls Short

Yet, the movie frankly lacks the fighter’s fancy footwork: the fight scenes run smoothly, but the crucial story between them is repeatedly dull and monotonous. It lacks subtlety or light and shade in the portrayal 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 character really interesting – although he’s obviously been training and looks very plausible in the ring.

Dialogue and Music Issues

The story is often burdened by utilitarian, explanatory lines that tell you precisely what is going on and what we are meant to feel (“You started your career at seven years old …”). This is the sort of script that streaming-TV executives call “second-screen”, ensuring you know what’s going on while you’re viewing the movie but also checking your device. Additionally, the background music is overbearing, sometimes almost overwhelming, especially in the scene where Hamed gets too excited visiting Warren in his palatial home.

Acting and Pivotal Scenes

Although El-Masry and Brosnan do their considerable best, their dynamic doesn’t quite ignites, and the major fight scenes are frequently disappointingly cut short. The most important scene is certainly when, goaded beyond endurance in the gym one day by Hamed as a delusional “elder”, Ingle in fact offers to step into the ring and fight him. Everyone in the room is shocked and uneasy. In what way is this extremely unwise standoff going to unfold? How precisely the ending? Surely the Prince is going to kill him? Alternatively will he sentimentally pull his punches? It’s not clear.

Bright Spots and Comedy

That’s not to say that there aren’t some good moments. Brosnan elicits humor when his character tells a reporter what he’s teaching the kids from his local community: to oppose prejudice and when you encounter a offender, “Hit them in the bollocks”. It’s funny too when the boxer squirms at the ridiculous antics Ingle makes him do in the early days: acting like the “beast from the East”.

Plot and Conclusion

Regarding the falling out, the movie depicts this as being worsened by a revealing publication that Ingle is allegedly written (a story element clearly adapted from prior material), and there is an intriguingly conceived last discussion – although the heartfelt homage that Hamed is supposed to have given to his mentor after his passing is only referenced in the end titles, and not shown on screen. There is engaging content here, but the blows don’t land.

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