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This film features a talented ensemble, depicting the true tale of Irish boxing trainer Ingle, who guided a brash Yorkshire youth from Yemeni migrant family. Known as Naseem Hamed, the fighter was taught to confront prejudice and transformed into a media-friendly titleholder in the 1990s. The trainer nurtured his showboating arrogance and powerful punches, but after achieving wealth, Hamed turned against his coach, excluding him and turning him into a mix of John Falstaff and Danny Rose.

Performers and Roles

Brosnan plays Ingle; El-Masry embodies the role of Hamed, and Stephens appears as the bullish London promoter Warren, who saw the potential that Ingle had uncovered.

Film’s Shortcomings

Yet, the movie frankly lacks the Prince’s agility: the boxing sequences flow well, but the all-important story between them is repeatedly dull and monotonous. It lacks nuance or contrast in the depiction of Hamed himself, and the actor, an otherwise outstanding performer, isn’t given the chance to show any depth or much of what might make his character truly engaging – although he’s clearly been training and looks very plausible in the ring.

Problems with Script and Sound

The story is repeatedly burdened by utilitarian, explanatory lines that inform you exactly what is happening and what we are meant to feel (“Your journey began your boxing journey at age seven …”). This is the sort of dialogue that streaming-TV producers call “double-screen”, making sure you understand what’s unfolding while you’re viewing the film but also checking your device. And, the score is overpowering, sometimes almost overwhelming, particularly in the scene where the boxer gets too excited calling on Warren in his luxurious residence.

Acting and Pivotal Scenes

Although the leads do their very best, their dynamic never really comes to life, and the major fight scenes are often disappointingly truncated. A key moment is certainly when, goaded past his limit in the training facility one day by Hamed as a delusional “old man”, Ingle in fact offers to get in the ring and box him. All present in the room is shocked and uneasy. How exactly is this insanely risky standoff going to unfold? What will be the outcome? Certainly the champion is going to defeat him? Alternatively will he sentimentally hold back? It’s not clear.

Bright Spots and Comedy

That’s not to say that there aren’t some nice jabs. The actor elicits humor when Ingle tells a reporter what he’s instructing the youths from his neighborhood: to reject prejudice and when you meet a offender, “Hit them in the bollocks”. Amusing too when Hamed fidgets at the silly antics the coach makes him do in the beginning: posing as the “monster from the East”.

Plot and Conclusion

Regarding the falling out, the film depicts this as being exacerbated by a tell-all publication that the trainer is supposed to have authored (a story element clearly modified from prior material), and there is an intriguingly conceived last discussion – although the heartfelt homage that Hamed is reportedly given to his mentor after his passing is only referenced in the closing credits, and not dramatised on screen. Some engaging content in this film, but the punches fail to connect.

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