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This film boasts a impressive cast, depicting the real-life story of coach Ingle, who guided a cheeky Yorkshire youth from Yemeni migrant family. Dubbed Naseem Hamed, the youngster was taught to stand up to prejudice and transformed into a media-friendly world champion in the late 90s. Ingle nurtured his flamboyant arrogance and lethal fists, but after achieving wealth, Hamed betrayed his coach, excluding him and making him a blend of John Falstaff and Danny Rose.

Performers and Roles

Pierce Brosnan plays the trainer; El-Masry takes on the role of Hamed, and Stephens is the bullish promoter Warren, who recognized the potential that Ingle had discovered.

Where the Movie Falls Short

Yet, the film frankly misses the fighter’s agility: the fight scenes flow well, but the crucial story between them is repeatedly dull and monotonous. It lacks nuance or contrast in the portrayal of Hamed himself, and the actor, an otherwise excellent talent, isn’t given the opportunity to show any depth or much of what might make his role truly engaging – although he’s obviously been working out and looks very plausible in the boxing arena.

Problems with Script and Sound

The story is often lumbered with utilitarian, explanatory dialogue that inform you precisely what is going on and what we are meant to feel (“You started your career at seven years old …”). This is the kind of dialogue that digital executives call “double-screen”, ensuring you know what’s unfolding while you’re watching the film but also checking your device. Additionally, the background music is overbearing, at times almost deafening, especially in the scene where Hamed gets overexcited calling on the promoter in his palatial home.

Acting and Pivotal Scenes

Although El-Masry and Brosnan do their considerable best, their dynamic doesn’t quite comes to life, and the major boxing moments are frequently anticlimactically cut short. The most important scene is certainly when, goaded beyond endurance in the training facility one day by the boxer as a delusional “elder”, the trainer in fact offers to step into the ring and fight him. All present in the gym is stunned and uneasy. How exactly is this extremely risky standoff going to unfold? What will be the outcome? Surely the champion is going to defeat him? Alternatively will he emotionally 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 Ingle informs a reporter what he’s teaching the kids from his local community: to reject prejudice and when you meet a offender, “Hit them in the groin”. Amusing too when Hamed squirms at the silly stunts the coach makes him do in the early days: acting like the “monster from the Middle East”.

Plot and Conclusion

As for the rift, the film shows this as being exacerbated by a tell-all publication that Ingle is allegedly authored (a plot point clearly adapted from another source), and there is an interestingly conceived final conversation – however the emotional tribute that Hamed is supposed to have paid to Ingle after his passing is merely mentioned in the closing credits, and not dramatised on film. Some engaging content in this film, but the blows don’t land.

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