The Giant Film Analysis: Prince Naseem Biopic Featuring Brosnan Misses the Impact

The movie boasts a talented cast, depicting the real-life tale of coach Ingle, who mentored a brash Sheffield teenager from Yemeni migrant family. Dubbed “Prince” Naseem Hamed, the youngster was taught to confront prejudice and molded into a media-friendly world champion in the 1990s. Ingle cultivated his flamboyant arrogance and lethal fists, but after achieving wealth, Hamed turned against his coach, excluding him and turning him into a blend of John Falstaff and Broadway Danny Rose.

Cast and Characters

Brosnan portrays Ingle; El-Masry embodies the role of Hamed, and Stephens appears as the assertive promoter Frank Warren, who recognized the potential that the coach had uncovered.

Where the Movie Falls Short

Yet, the movie honestly misses the fighter’s fancy footwork: the boxing sequences run smoothly, but the all-important drama between them is repeatedly dull and one-note. There is no subtlety or contrast in the depiction of Hamed himself, and the actor, an otherwise outstanding performer, doesn’t get the opportunity to show any depth or much of what might make his character really interesting – although he’s obviously been training and appears convincing in the boxing arena.

Dialogue and Music Issues

The drama is repeatedly lumbered with functional, expositional lines that inform you exactly what is going on and what we are meant to feel (“Your journey began your boxing journey at age seven …”). This is the kind of script that digital executives call “second-screen”, making sure you know what’s going on while you’re watching the movie but also glancing at your device. And, the background music is overbearing, at times nearly overwhelming, particularly in the moment where Hamed gets too excited visiting Warren in his luxurious home.

Acting and Pivotal Scenes

Although El-Masry and Brosnan do their considerable best, their relationship never really ignites, and the big set-piece boxing moments are frequently anticlimactically cut short. The most important scene is surely when, goaded beyond endurance in the gym one day by Hamed as a misguided “elder”, the trainer in fact offers to get in the ring and box him. Everyone in the gym is shocked and uncomfortable. In what way is this insanely risky confrontation going to play out? How precisely the outcome? Certainly the Prince is going to defeat him? Alternatively will he emotionally hold back? It’s not clear.

Bright Spots and Comedy

That’s not to say that there are no some good moments. The actor elicits humor when Ingle informs a reporter what he’s instructing the kids from his local community: to oppose bias and when you meet a paedophile, “Hit them in the groin”. It’s funny too when the boxer fidgets at the ridiculous antics Ingle makes him do in the early days: posing as the “beast from the Middle East”.

Plot and Conclusion

Regarding the rift, the movie shows this as being worsened by a tell-all publication that Ingle is supposed to have authored (a plot point clearly modified from prior material), and there is an interestingly imagined final conversation – although the heartfelt homage that the boxer is supposed to have paid to Ingle after his passing is merely mentioned in the closing credits, and not shown on film. There is engaging content in this film, but the punches fail to connect.

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