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This film features a talented ensemble, depicting the real-life story of Irish boxing trainer Ingle, who mentored a brash Yorkshire youth from Middle Eastern migrant parents. Known as Naseem Hamed, the fighter was taught to confront prejudice and transformed into a media-friendly world champion in the late 90s. The trainer nurtured his flamboyant confidence and powerful punches, but after becoming rich, Hamed turned against his coach, cutting him out and making him a mix of Falstaff and Broadway Danny Rose.

Performers and Roles

Brosnan portrays the trainer; Amir El-Masry embodies the part of Hamed, and Toby Stephens appears as the bullish London promoter Warren, who recognized the goldmine that Ingle had discovered.

Where the Movie Falls Short

Yet, the movie honestly misses the Prince’s agility: the fight scenes flow well, but the all-important story between them is consistently flat and one-note. It lacks nuance or contrast in the portrayal of Hamed himself, and the actor, an otherwise excellent talent, isn’t given the opportunity to display any depth or much of what might make his character truly engaging – although he’s obviously been working out and looks very plausible in the boxing arena.

Dialogue and Music Issues

The drama is repeatedly burdened by utilitarian, explanatory dialogue that tell you exactly what is happening and what we are meant to feel (“Your journey began your career at seven years old …”). It is the kind of dialogue that streaming-TV executives call “double-screen”, ensuring you know what’s going on while you’re viewing the movie but also glancing at your phone. And, the score is overpowering, at times almost overwhelming, especially in the moment where the boxer gets too excited visiting Warren in his luxurious home.

Acting and Pivotal Scenes

Although the leads do their considerable utmost, their relationship doesn’t quite ignites, and the major fight scenes are often disappointingly cut short. The most important scene is surely when, provoked past his limit in the training facility one day by the boxer as a misguided “old man”, the trainer in fact offers to step into the ring and box him. Everyone in the room is shocked and uneasy. In what way is this insanely risky confrontation going to play out? How precisely the ending? Surely the champion is going to defeat him? Or will he emotionally hold back? The resolution remains ambiguous.

Bright Spots and Comedy

This isn’t to imply that there aren’t some nice jabs. Brosnan elicits humor when Ingle tells a journalist what he’s instructing the kids from his local community: to oppose prejudice and when you encounter a offender, “Punch him in the groin”. It’s funny too when the boxer fidgets at the ridiculous stunts Ingle makes him do in the early days: acting like the “beast from the Middle East”.

Plot and Conclusion

Regarding the falling out, the film shows this as being exacerbated by a tell-all publication that Ingle is allegedly authored (a plot point clearly modified from prior material), and there is an intriguingly imagined last discussion – however the emotional tribute that the boxer is supposed to have paid to his mentor after his death is only mentioned in the end titles, and not shown on film. Some engaging content here, but the blows don’t land.

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