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The movie boasts a talented ensemble, depicting the true tale of coach Ingle, who guided a cheeky Sheffield teenager from Middle Eastern immigrant parents. Known as Naseem Hamed, the youngster was taught to stand up to racist bullies and molded into a media-friendly titleholder in the 1990s. Ingle nurtured his flamboyant arrogance and lethal fists, but after achieving wealth, the boxer turned against his coach, cutting him out and turning him into a mix of John Falstaff and Danny Rose.

Cast and Characters

Brosnan plays Ingle; Amir El-Masry takes on the role of Hamed, and Stephens appears as the bullish promoter Frank Warren, who recognized the goldmine that the coach had uncovered.

Film’s Shortcomings

However, the movie honestly misses the fighter’s agility: the boxing sequences flow well, but the all-important story in between is consistently dull and one-note. It lacks subtlety or light and shade in the portrayal of Hamed himself, and the actor, an otherwise excellent talent, doesn’t get the opportunity to display any depth or much of what might make his character really interesting – even though he’s clearly been working out and appears convincing in the ring.

Problems with Script and Sound

The drama is often lumbered with functional, expositional lines that inform you precisely what is happening and what we are supposed to be thinking (“Your journey began your boxing journey at age seven …”). It is the sort of dialogue that digital producers call “second-screen”, ensuring you know what’s going on while you’re viewing the movie but also glancing at your device. Additionally, the score is overpowering, sometimes almost overwhelming, especially in the moment where Hamed gets overexcited calling on Warren in his luxurious residence.

Acting and Pivotal Scenes

While the leads do their considerable utmost, their relationship doesn’t quite ignites, and the major boxing moments are frequently disappointingly truncated. The most important moment is certainly when, provoked beyond endurance in the training facility one day by the boxer as a misguided “old man”, the trainer in fact offers to get in the ring and box him. All present in the gym is shocked and uncomfortable. In what way is this insanely risky standoff going to play out? What will be the outcome? Surely the Prince is going to defeat him? Or will he sentimentally pull his punches? It’s not clear.

Bright Spots and Comedy

This isn’t to imply that there are no some nice jabs. The actor elicits humor when Ingle tells a reporter what he’s teaching the kids from his local community: to reject prejudice and when you encounter a offender, “Hit them in the groin”. Amusing too when Hamed fidgets at the ridiculous stunts the coach makes him do in the early days: acting like the “beast from the East”.

Storyline and Final Thoughts

Regarding the falling out, the movie shows this as being worsened by a revealing book that Ingle is supposed to have authored (a plot point evidently adapted from another source), and there is an intriguingly conceived last discussion – although the heartfelt homage that Hamed is reportedly paid to his mentor after his death is merely referenced in the closing credits, and not dramatised on film. There is engaging content 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.