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The movie boasts a impressive ensemble, telling the true tale of Irish boxing trainer Ingle, who guided a brash Sheffield youth from Yemeni migrant parents. Dubbed “Prince” Naseem Hamed, the fighter was taught to confront prejudice and transformed into a media-friendly world champion in the late 90s. Ingle cultivated his showboating arrogance and lethal fists, but after becoming rich, the boxer betrayed his coach, cutting him out and turning him into a blend of John Falstaff and Broadway Danny Rose.

Performers and Roles

Brosnan plays Ingle; Amir El-Masry takes on the role of Hamed, and Stephens appears as the assertive London promoter Warren, who saw the potential that the coach had discovered.

Film’s Shortcomings

However, the film honestly lacks the Prince’s agility: the fight scenes run smoothly, but the all-important story between them is repeatedly dull and one-note. It lacks nuance or contrast in the depiction of the protagonist himself, and the actor, an otherwise outstanding performer, doesn’t get the opportunity to display any subtlety or much of what might make his character really interesting – although he’s clearly been training and looks very plausible in the boxing arena.

Problems with Script and Sound

The story is repeatedly lumbered with utilitarian, explanatory dialogue that inform you precisely what is happening and what we are supposed to be thinking (“You started your career at seven years old …”). It is the kind of dialogue that streaming-TV executives call “second-screen”, ensuring you know what’s unfolding while you’re watching the movie but also checking your device. Additionally, the background music is overpowering, sometimes nearly overwhelming, particularly in the scene where Hamed gets too excited visiting the promoter in his palatial home.

Acting and Pivotal Scenes

Although the leads do their very best, their relationship never really comes to life, and the major boxing moments are frequently anticlimactically cut short. A key moment is certainly when, provoked past his limit in the gym one day by the boxer as a misguided “elder”, the trainer in fact offers to get in the ring and box him. Everyone in the room is stunned and uncomfortable. In what way is this insanely risky confrontation going to unfold? What will be the outcome? Surely the Prince is going to defeat him? Or will he sentimentally hold back? The resolution remains ambiguous.

Bright Spots and Comedy

That’s not to say that there are no some nice jabs. The actor gets laughs when Ingle tells a journalist what he’s teaching the youths from his neighborhood: to oppose bias and when you meet a offender, “Punch him in the bollocks”. Amusing too when Hamed fidgets at the ridiculous antics Ingle makes him do in the beginning: acting like the “monster from the Middle East”.

Storyline and Final Thoughts

Regarding the falling out, the movie depicts this as being worsened by a tell-all publication that the trainer is supposed to have written (a story element clearly modified from prior material), and there is an interestingly imagined final conversation – although the heartfelt homage that the boxer is supposed to have given to Ingle after his passing is only referenced in the closing credits, and not dramatised on screen. There is interesting material in this film, but the punches fail to connect.

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