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The movie boasts a impressive ensemble, depicting the real-life story of coach Ingle, who guided a brash Yorkshire teenager from Yemeni immigrant family. Dubbed Naseem Hamed, the fighter was taught to stand up to prejudice and molded into a celebrity world champion in the 1990s. Ingle cultivated his showboating confidence and powerful punches, but after becoming rich, the boxer turned against his coach, cutting him out and making him a blend of John Falstaff and Danny Rose.

Cast and Characters

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

Where the Movie Falls Short

Yet, the film frankly misses the fighter’s fancy footwork: the boxing sequences run smoothly, but the crucial drama in between is consistently dull and one-note. It lacks nuance or light and shade in the depiction of Hamed himself, and the actor, an otherwise outstanding performer, doesn’t get the chance to show any depth or much of what might make his role truly engaging – although he’s obviously been working out and appears convincing in the ring.

Dialogue and Music Issues

The story is repeatedly lumbered with functional, expositional lines that tell 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 executives call “second-screen”, ensuring you understand what’s going on while you’re viewing the movie but also checking your device. And, the score is overbearing, sometimes nearly overwhelming, particularly in the moment where Hamed gets too excited visiting Warren in his palatial residence.

Acting and Pivotal Scenes

Although El-Masry and Brosnan do their very utmost, their relationship doesn’t quite ignites, and the major boxing moments are often disappointingly cut short. The most important moment is certainly when, goaded past his limit in the training facility one day by the boxer as a misguided “elder”, the trainer actually proposes to step into the ring and box him. All present in the room is stunned and uneasy. In what way is this insanely unwise confrontation going to unfold? What will be the outcome? Surely the Prince is going to kill him? Or will he emotionally pull his punches? It’s not clear.

Highlights and Humor

That’s not to say that there aren’t some good moments. The actor gets laughs when Ingle informs a journalist what he’s teaching the youths from his local community: to reject bias and when you encounter a offender, “Hit them in the bollocks”. Amusing too when the boxer fidgets at the ridiculous stunts Ingle makes him do in the beginning: acting like the “beast from the East”.

Plot and Conclusion

As for the rift, the movie shows this as being worsened by a tell-all publication that the trainer is supposed to have authored (a plot point clearly adapted from prior material), and there is an interestingly conceived last discussion – although the emotional tribute that the boxer is reportedly given to Ingle after his death is merely referenced in the closing credits, and not dramatised on screen. There is interesting material in this film, but the blows don’t land.

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