The Giant Review: Prince Naseem Movie Featuring Pierce Brosnan Misses the Impact

This film features a talented ensemble, depicting the real-life story of coach Brendan Ingle, who mentored a brash Sheffield teenager from Yemeni migrant parents. Known as “Prince” Naseem Hamed, the youngster was coached to stand up to prejudice and transformed into a celebrity world champion in the late 90s. Ingle nurtured his flamboyant arrogance and lethal fists, but after achieving wealth, the boxer turned against his coach, cutting him out and turning him into a mix of Falstaff and Danny Rose.

Performers and Roles

Pierce Brosnan plays the trainer; El-Masry takes on the role of Hamed, and Toby Stephens appears as the assertive promoter Frank Warren, who recognized the goldmine that Ingle had discovered.

Where the Movie Falls Short

Yet, the film frankly misses the fighter’s agility: the boxing sequences flow well, but the crucial story in between is consistently dull and one-note. It lacks subtlety or light and shade in the depiction of Hamed himself, and the actor, an otherwise excellent talent, isn’t given the opportunity to show any subtlety or much of what might make his character really interesting – even though he’s clearly been working out and appears convincing in the ring.

Problems with Script and Sound

The story is often burdened by utilitarian, explanatory dialogue that inform you exactly what is happening and what we are supposed to be thinking (“You started your boxing journey at age seven …”). It is the kind of dialogue that digital executives call “double-screen”, ensuring you understand what’s going on while you’re watching the film but also checking your device. And, the background music is overbearing, at times almost overwhelming, especially in the moment where Hamed gets too excited calling on the promoter in his luxurious residence.

Acting and Pivotal Scenes

While El-Masry and Brosnan do their considerable best, their relationship never really ignites, and the major fight scenes are frequently anticlimactically truncated. The most important moment is surely when, provoked past his limit in the gym one day by the boxer as a misguided “elder”, Ingle in fact proposes to get in the ring and box him. Everyone in the gym is stunned and uncomfortable. How exactly is this insanely risky confrontation going to unfold? How precisely the outcome? Surely the Prince is going to defeat him? Or will he emotionally pull his punches? It’s not clear.

Bright Spots and Comedy

That’s not to say that there are no some nice jabs. The actor elicits humor when his character informs a reporter what he’s teaching the kids from his local community: to reject bias and when you meet a paedophile, “Punch him in the bollocks”. Amusing too when Hamed squirms at the silly antics Ingle makes him do in the beginning: posing as the “monster from the Middle East”.

Storyline and Final Thoughts

Regarding the rift, the film depicts this as being exacerbated by a revealing publication that Ingle is supposed to have written (a plot point evidently modified from another source), and there is an interestingly imagined final conversation – however the emotional tribute that Hamed is supposed to have paid to Ingle after his passing is only referenced in the end titles, and not shown on screen. Some engaging content here, but the blows don’t land.

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