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The movie boasts a talented cast, depicting the real-life story of coach Ingle, who guided a cheeky Yorkshire youth from Yemeni immigrant parents. Known as “Prince” Naseem Hamed, the youngster was coached to confront prejudice and molded into a celebrity world champion in the 1990s. The trainer nurtured his flamboyant confidence and powerful punches, but after achieving wealth, Hamed betrayed his mentor, cutting him out and making him a blend of John Falstaff and Danny Rose.

Performers and Roles

Pierce Brosnan portrays Ingle; El-Masry embodies the part of the prince, and Toby Stephens appears as the assertive promoter Frank Warren, who recognized the goldmine that the coach had uncovered.

Where the Movie Falls Short

However, the movie frankly misses the Prince’s fancy footwork: the fight scenes flow well, but the all-important story in between is consistently dull and monotonous. It lacks subtlety or light and shade in the depiction of Hamed himself, and the actor, an otherwise outstanding performer, doesn’t get 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 drama is often burdened by functional, expositional lines that inform you exactly what is happening and what we are meant to feel (“Your journey began your career at seven years old …”). It is the sort of script that streaming-TV producers call “double-screen”, ensuring you understand what’s going on while you’re viewing the film but also glancing at your phone. Additionally, the background music is overpowering, sometimes almost overwhelming, particularly in the scene where Hamed gets overexcited calling on Warren in his luxurious home.

Acting and Pivotal Scenes

While the leads do their very utmost, their dynamic doesn’t quite comes to life, and the big set-piece boxing moments are frequently anticlimactically truncated. A key moment is surely when, goaded beyond endurance in the gym one day by Hamed as a misguided “old man”, the trainer actually proposes to get in the ring and box him. All present in the room is shocked and uneasy. In what way is this insanely unwise confrontation going to unfold? What will be the outcome? Certainly the Prince is going to kill him? Alternatively will he emotionally pull his punches? It’s not clear.

Bright Spots and Comedy

That’s not to say that there aren’t some nice jabs. Brosnan elicits humor when his character tells a journalist what he’s instructing the youths from his local community: to oppose bias and when you meet a paedophile, “Punch him in the bollocks”. Amusing too when the boxer fidgets at the ridiculous stunts Ingle makes him do in the early days: acting like the “monster from the East”.

Storyline and Final Thoughts

Regarding the rift, the movie shows this as being worsened by a tell-all publication that Ingle is allegedly written (a story element evidently adapted from prior material), and there is an interestingly imagined last discussion – although the emotional tribute that the boxer is reportedly given to Ingle after his death is merely mentioned in the closing credits, and not dramatised on film. Some interesting material in this film, but the blows fail to connect.

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