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This film boasts a talented ensemble, depicting the real-life story of coach Brendan Ingle, who guided a brash Yorkshire teenager from Middle Eastern immigrant family. Known as “Prince” Naseem Hamed, the youngster was taught to stand up to racist bullies and molded into a celebrity world champion in the late 90s. The trainer nurtured his flamboyant arrogance and lethal fists, but after becoming rich, Hamed turned against his mentor, excluding him and making him a mix of Falstaff and Danny Rose.

Performers and Roles

Pierce Brosnan portrays Ingle; El-Masry embodies the role of Hamed, and Toby Stephens is the bullish promoter Warren, who recognized the goldmine that Ingle had uncovered.

Film’s Shortcomings

Yet, the movie honestly misses the Prince’s fancy footwork: the boxing sequences run smoothly, but the all-important drama in between is repeatedly flat and monotonous. It lacks subtlety or contrast in the portrayal of the protagonist himself, and El-Masry, an otherwise excellent talent, doesn’t get the opportunity to display any subtlety or much of what might make his character really interesting – even though he’s clearly been working out and looks very plausible in the ring.

Dialogue and Music Issues

The story is repeatedly burdened by functional, explanatory lines that inform you precisely what is happening and what we are meant to feel (“You started your career at seven years old …”). It is the sort of script that digital executives call “double-screen”, making sure you understand what’s unfolding while you’re watching the movie but also glancing at your phone. And, the background music is overpowering, sometimes almost overwhelming, especially in the scene where the boxer gets too excited visiting the promoter in his palatial home.

Acting and Pivotal Scenes

Although the leads do their considerable utmost, their dynamic never really comes to life, and the major fight scenes are frequently disappointingly truncated. The most important scene is certainly when, goaded beyond endurance in the training facility one day by the boxer as a delusional “elder”, the trainer actually proposes to get in the ring and box him. All present in the gym is shocked and uncomfortable. In what way is this insanely unwise standoff going to unfold? What will be the ending? Certainly the champion is going to defeat him? Alternatively 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. Brosnan elicits humor when Ingle informs a journalist what he’s teaching the kids from his local community: to oppose bias and when you meet a paedophile, “Punch him in the bollocks”. It’s funny too when Hamed squirms at the silly antics Ingle makes him do in the beginning: acting like the “monster from the East”.

Storyline and Final Thoughts

Regarding the rift, the film depicts this as being worsened by a tell-all book that Ingle is allegedly written (a plot point clearly modified from prior material), and there is an interestingly imagined last discussion – although the heartfelt homage that Hamed is reportedly given to Ingle after his death is only mentioned in the closing credits, and not dramatised on screen. There is engaging content here, but the blows fail to connect.

Giant was shown at the London film festival and is in British and Irish cinemas from 9 January.