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The movie features a talented cast, depicting the real-life story of coach Brendan Ingle, who mentored a cheeky Yorkshire teenager from Yemeni immigrant parents. Dubbed Naseem Hamed, the youngster was taught to stand up to racist bullies and molded into a celebrity world champion in the late 90s. Ingle cultivated his showboating arrogance and powerful punches, but after achieving wealth, Hamed betrayed his coach, cutting him out and making him a blend of Falstaff and Danny Rose.

Cast and Characters

Brosnan plays the trainer; El-Masry takes on the part of Hamed, and Stephens is the bullish promoter Warren, who recognized the potential that the coach had uncovered.

Where the Movie Falls Short

However, the movie frankly lacks the fighter’s fancy footwork: the boxing sequences run smoothly, but the crucial story between them is repeatedly flat and one-note. There is no nuance or contrast in the depiction of Hamed himself, and El-Masry, an otherwise outstanding performer, isn’t given the chance to display any depth or much of what might make his role truly engaging – although he’s clearly been working out and looks very plausible in the boxing arena.

Dialogue and Music Issues

The story is often burdened by utilitarian, expositional dialogue that inform you precisely what is happening and what we are supposed to be thinking (“Your journey began your boxing journey at seven years old …”). This is the sort of dialogue that digital executives call “second-screen”, making sure you understand what’s going on while you’re viewing the movie but also checking your phone. And, the score is overbearing, sometimes nearly overwhelming, especially in the scene where Hamed gets too excited visiting Warren in his palatial home.

Performances and Key Moments

While the leads do their considerable best, their dynamic doesn’t quite comes to life, and the big set-piece fight scenes are frequently disappointingly truncated. The most important scene is surely when, goaded beyond endurance in the gym one day by Hamed as a misguided “old man”, the trainer actually offers to get in the ring and fight him. Everyone in the gym is shocked and uncomfortable. In what way is this insanely risky confrontation going to play out? What will be the outcome? Surely the champion is going to kill 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 good moments. The actor elicits humor when his character informs a journalist what he’s instructing the youths from his neighborhood: to reject bias and when you encounter a paedophile, “Punch him 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 Middle East”.

Storyline and Final Thoughts

As for the falling out, the film depicts this as being worsened by a tell-all publication that Ingle is supposed to have authored (a story element evidently adapted from prior material), and there is an intriguingly imagined last discussion – although the emotional tribute that the boxer is supposed to have given to Ingle after his passing is merely referenced in the end titles, and not shown on film. Some interesting material in this film, but the blows don’t land.

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