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This film boasts a impressive ensemble, telling the true tale of coach Ingle, who guided a cheeky Sheffield youth from Yemeni migrant family. Known as “Prince” Naseem Hamed, the youngster was taught to confront racist bullies and molded into a celebrity titleholder in the late 90s. Ingle cultivated his flamboyant confidence and powerful punches, but after achieving wealth, the boxer betrayed his coach, cutting him out and making him a blend of Falstaff and Broadway Danny Rose.

Performers and Roles

Brosnan plays the trainer; El-Masry takes on the role of the prince, and Stephens appears as the assertive promoter Frank Warren, who saw the potential that the coach had uncovered.

Where the Movie Falls Short

However, the film frankly lacks the Prince’s fancy footwork: the boxing sequences run smoothly, but the crucial story between them is consistently flat and one-note. There is no subtlety or contrast in the depiction of Hamed 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 clearly been training and looks very plausible in the ring.

Problems with Script and Sound

The drama is repeatedly lumbered with utilitarian, explanatory lines that inform you precisely what is going on and what we are meant to feel (“You started your boxing journey at age seven …”). It is the kind of script that streaming-TV executives call “second-screen”, making sure you understand what’s unfolding while you’re viewing the film but also checking your phone. Additionally, the score is overbearing, at times nearly deafening, especially in the scene where the boxer gets too excited visiting the promoter in his palatial residence.

Performances and Key Moments

Although El-Masry and Brosnan do their very utmost, their relationship doesn’t quite ignites, and the big set-piece fight scenes are often disappointingly cut short. A key scene is surely when, provoked beyond endurance in the training facility one day by Hamed as a delusional “old man”, the trainer actually proposes to get in the ring and fight him. Everyone in the gym is shocked and uncomfortable. In what way is this extremely risky confrontation going to unfold? What will be the outcome? Surely the Prince is going to kill him? Or will he sentimentally pull his punches? The resolution remains ambiguous.

Bright Spots and Comedy

That’s not to say that there are no some good moments. The actor elicits humor when his character informs a journalist what he’s teaching the youths from his neighborhood: to reject prejudice and when you encounter a offender, “Hit them in the bollocks”. Amusing too when Hamed fidgets at the ridiculous stunts Ingle makes him do in the beginning: posing as the “monster from the Middle East”.

Plot and Conclusion

As for the falling out, the movie depicts this as being worsened by a revealing book that Ingle is allegedly written (a story element evidently adapted from another source), and there is an intriguingly imagined last discussion – although the emotional tribute that Hamed is supposed to have paid to his mentor after his death is only mentioned in the closing credits, and not shown on screen. There is interesting material here, but the punches fail to connect.

The film screened at the festival and is available in British and Irish theaters from 9 January.