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This film boasts a impressive cast, depicting the real-life story of coach Ingle, who guided a cheeky Sheffield teenager from Middle Eastern immigrant parents. Known as Naseem Hamed, the fighter was coached to stand up to prejudice and molded into a media-friendly titleholder in the 1990s. Ingle cultivated his flamboyant arrogance and powerful punches, but after achieving wealth, Hamed betrayed his mentor, excluding him and turning him into a mix of John Falstaff and Danny Rose.

Performers and Roles

Pierce Brosnan plays Ingle; Amir El-Masry takes on the role of Hamed, and Stephens is the assertive London promoter Warren, who recognized the goldmine that Ingle had discovered.

Where the Movie Falls Short

However, the film honestly lacks the fighter’s agility: the boxing sequences flow well, but the all-important drama in between is repeatedly dull and one-note. There is no subtlety or light and shade in the depiction of Hamed himself, and the actor, an otherwise excellent talent, isn’t given the chance to display any subtlety or much of what might make his role really interesting – although he’s clearly been working out and appears convincing in the boxing arena.

Problems with Script and Sound

The drama is repeatedly lumbered with functional, explanatory dialogue that tell you exactly what is going on and what we are supposed to be thinking (“You started your boxing journey at seven years old …”). This is the sort of dialogue that digital executives call “double-screen”, making sure you know what’s going on while you’re viewing the movie but also checking your phone. And, the background music is overbearing, at times nearly overwhelming, especially in the moment where Hamed gets overexcited visiting Warren in his luxurious home.

Performances and Key Moments

Although El-Masry and Brosnan do their very best, their dynamic never really comes to life, and the major boxing moments are frequently anticlimactically cut short. The most important moment is certainly when, goaded beyond endurance in the gym one day by the boxer as a misguided “old man”, the trainer in fact proposes to get in the ring and box him. All present in the room is stunned and uneasy. How exactly is this extremely risky standoff going to play out? What will be the outcome? Surely the champion 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 aren’t some nice jabs. Brosnan gets laughs when his character tells a journalist what he’s teaching the kids from his local community: to oppose prejudice and when you encounter a offender, “Hit them in the groin”. It’s funny too when Hamed squirms at the ridiculous antics Ingle makes him do in the early days: acting like the “monster from the East”.

Storyline and Final Thoughts

Regarding the rift, the movie shows this as being exacerbated by a tell-all book that the trainer is allegedly authored (a story element evidently adapted from prior material), and there is an intriguingly conceived last discussion – although the emotional tribute that the boxer is supposed to have paid to his mentor after his death is merely mentioned in the closing credits, and not shown on film. Some engaging content here, but the punches don’t land.

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