Giant Review: Prince Naseem Movie Starring Pierce Brosnan Lacks the Impact

The movie boasts a talented ensemble, depicting the real-life tale of Irish boxing trainer Brendan Ingle, who mentored a brash Sheffield youth from Middle Eastern immigrant parents. Known as “Prince” Naseem Hamed, the fighter was coached to confront racist bullies and transformed into a media-friendly titleholder in the late 90s. The trainer cultivated his showboating arrogance and lethal fists, but after achieving wealth, the boxer betrayed his coach, cutting him out and making him a mix of Falstaff and Broadway Danny Rose.

Performers and Roles

Pierce Brosnan portrays Ingle; El-Masry takes on the part of the prince, and Toby Stephens is the assertive promoter Frank Warren, who recognized the potential that Ingle had discovered.

Film’s Shortcomings

However, the movie frankly misses the Prince’s fancy footwork: the boxing sequences flow well, but the all-important story in between is repeatedly dull and monotonous. There is no nuance or light and shade 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 character truly engaging – even though he’s clearly been training and appears convincing in the boxing arena.

Problems with Script and Sound

The drama is often lumbered with utilitarian, explanatory 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 kind of dialogue that digital producers call “second-screen”, making sure you understand what’s going on while you’re watching the film but also glancing at your device. Additionally, the score is overpowering, at times almost deafening, especially in the moment where the boxer gets overexcited calling on Warren in his luxurious residence.

Performances and Key Moments

While El-Masry and Brosnan do their very utmost, their relationship never really comes to life, and the big set-piece fight scenes are frequently disappointingly cut short. The most important scene is certainly when, goaded past his limit in the gym one day by the boxer as a misguided “elder”, Ingle in fact proposes to step into the ring and box him. Everyone in the gym is shocked and uncomfortable. In what way is this extremely unwise confrontation going to unfold? What will be the ending? Surely the Prince is going to defeat him? Or will he emotionally hold back? It’s not clear.

Bright Spots and Comedy

This isn’t to imply that there are no some good moments. The actor elicits humor when Ingle tells a reporter what he’s instructing the kids from his neighborhood: to reject bias and when you meet a offender, “Punch him in the groin”. Amusing too when Hamed squirms at the silly stunts the coach makes him do in the early days: posing as the “beast from the Middle East”.

Storyline and Final Thoughts

Regarding the rift, the film shows this as being worsened by a revealing publication that the trainer is supposed to have authored (a plot point evidently adapted from another source), and there is an intriguingly imagined final conversation – however the emotional tribute that Hamed is reportedly paid to Ingle after his death is only mentioned in the closing credits, and not dramatised on screen. There is engaging content in this film, but the punches don’t land.

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