Giant Film Analysis: Prince Naseem Movie Featuring Pierce Brosnan Misses the Impact

This film features a talented ensemble, depicting the real-life story of Irish boxing trainer Brendan Ingle, who guided a cheeky Yorkshire teenager from Middle Eastern migrant parents. Dubbed “Prince” Naseem Hamed, the youngster was coached to stand up to prejudice and transformed into a celebrity world champion in the 1990s. The trainer cultivated his flamboyant arrogance and lethal fists, but after becoming rich, the boxer betrayed his coach, cutting him out and turning him into a blend of John Falstaff and Danny Rose.

Performers and Roles

Brosnan plays the trainer; Amir El-Masry embodies the role of Hamed, and Stephens appears as the assertive London promoter Frank Warren, who recognized the potential that Ingle had discovered.

Where the Movie Falls Short

Yet, the movie frankly misses the fighter’s fancy footwork: the boxing sequences flow well, but the all-important drama in between is consistently dull and monotonous. It lacks subtlety or contrast in the portrayal of the protagonist himself, and El-Masry, an otherwise outstanding performer, isn’t given the opportunity to display any subtlety or much of what might make his role truly engaging – although he’s clearly been training and looks very plausible in the ring.

Dialogue and Music Issues

The drama is often burdened by utilitarian, explanatory lines that tell you precisely what is going on and what we are supposed to be thinking (“You started your career at seven years old …”). This is the sort of dialogue that digital executives call “second-screen”, ensuring you know what’s going on while you’re watching the movie but also checking your phone. And, the background music is overpowering, sometimes almost deafening, especially in the moment where Hamed gets too excited calling on the promoter in his luxurious home.

Acting and Pivotal Scenes

While El-Masry and Brosnan do their considerable best, their relationship doesn’t quite comes to life, and the major boxing moments are frequently disappointingly cut short. A key scene is certainly when, provoked beyond endurance in the gym one day by Hamed as a misguided “old man”, the trainer in fact offers to get in the ring and fight him. All present in the gym is shocked and uneasy. In what way is this insanely risky standoff going to play out? How precisely the ending? Surely the Prince is going to defeat him? Or will he emotionally pull his punches? The resolution remains ambiguous.

Highlights and Humor

That’s not to say that there are no some nice jabs. The actor elicits humor when Ingle informs a reporter what he’s teaching the youths from his local community: to reject prejudice and when you meet a paedophile, “Hit them in the bollocks”. It’s funny too when the boxer fidgets at the silly antics the coach makes him do in the early days: posing as the “beast from the Middle East”.

Storyline and Final Thoughts

Regarding the falling out, the film shows this as being exacerbated by a tell-all publication that Ingle is supposed to have authored (a plot point evidently adapted from prior material), and there is an intriguingly conceived last discussion – however the emotional tribute that Hamed is reportedly given to his mentor after his passing is only referenced in the end titles, and not dramatised on screen. There is engaging content in this film, but the punches don’t land.

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