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This film boasts a talented cast, telling the real-life story of Irish boxing trainer Brendan Ingle, who guided a brash Sheffield youth from Yemeni immigrant parents. Dubbed Naseem Hamed, the fighter was coached to stand up to prejudice and molded into a celebrity world champion in the 1990s. The trainer cultivated his showboating arrogance and powerful punches, but after becoming rich, the boxer betrayed his mentor, cutting him out and making him a blend of John Falstaff and Danny Rose.

Performers and Roles

Brosnan portrays the trainer; Amir El-Masry embodies the role of Hamed, and Toby Stephens is the bullish promoter Frank Warren, who saw the potential that Ingle had uncovered.

Where the Movie Falls Short

However, the movie honestly misses the Prince’s fancy footwork: the boxing sequences run smoothly, but the crucial story between them is consistently dull and one-note. There is no nuance or light and shade in the portrayal of the protagonist himself, and the actor, an otherwise outstanding performer, doesn’t get the opportunity to show any subtlety or much of what might make his role really interesting – even though he’s clearly been training and looks very plausible in the boxing arena.

Problems with Script and Sound

The story is often lumbered with utilitarian, explanatory lines that inform you precisely what is happening and what we are supposed to be thinking (“Your journey began your career at seven years old …”). This is the sort of script that digital producers call “double-screen”, ensuring you understand what’s going on while you’re watching the film but also glancing at your phone. And, the background music is overpowering, sometimes almost overwhelming, particularly in the scene where Hamed gets overexcited visiting Warren in his luxurious home.

Performances and Key Moments

Although the leads do their considerable utmost, their relationship never really comes to life, and the major boxing moments are often anticlimactically cut short. The most important moment is surely when, goaded beyond endurance in the gym one day by Hamed as a misguided “elder”, the trainer in fact offers to get in the ring and fight him. All present in the room is stunned and uncomfortable. How exactly is this insanely risky confrontation going to unfold? What will be the outcome? Certainly the Prince is going to kill him? Or 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. Brosnan gets laughs when his character tells a journalist what he’s teaching the youths from his neighborhood: to reject prejudice and when you meet a offender, “Punch him in the groin”. It’s funny too when Hamed squirms at the ridiculous antics Ingle makes him do in the beginning: posing as the “monster from the Middle East”.

Storyline and Final Thoughts

Regarding the rift, the film shows this as being exacerbated by a tell-all book that Ingle is allegedly authored (a plot point clearly modified from prior material), and there is an intriguingly conceived final conversation – however the emotional tribute that Hamed is supposed to have paid to his mentor after his death is merely mentioned in the closing credits, and not shown on screen. Some engaging content in this film, but the punches fail to connect.

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