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This film boasts a impressive ensemble, depicting the true story of coach Brendan Ingle, who mentored a cheeky Yorkshire youth from Yemeni immigrant family. Known as “Prince” Naseem Hamed, the youngster was taught to confront racist bullies and transformed into a celebrity titleholder in the late 90s. The trainer cultivated his showboating arrogance and lethal fists, but after becoming rich, the boxer betrayed his mentor, excluding him and making him a blend of John Falstaff and Danny Rose.

Performers and Roles

Pierce Brosnan portrays the trainer; Amir El-Masry embodies the role of Hamed, and Stephens is the assertive London promoter Frank Warren, who saw the potential that Ingle had uncovered.

Film’s Shortcomings

Yet, the movie frankly misses the fighter’s agility: the boxing sequences run smoothly, but the crucial story between them is consistently dull and one-note. There is no nuance or light and shade in the depiction of Hamed himself, and El-Masry, an otherwise outstanding performer, doesn’t get the chance to display any subtlety or much of what might make his character really interesting – although he’s clearly been training and looks very plausible in the ring.

Problems with Script and Sound

The story is often burdened by utilitarian, expositional dialogue that tell you exactly what is happening and what we are supposed to be thinking (“Your journey began your boxing journey at age seven …”). This is the kind of script that streaming-TV executives call “second-screen”, making sure you understand what’s unfolding while you’re watching the movie but also glancing at your device. And, the score is overbearing, at times nearly deafening, especially in the scene where Hamed gets too excited visiting the promoter in his palatial home.

Acting and Pivotal Scenes

Although El-Masry and Brosnan do their considerable best, their dynamic never really comes to life, and the major fight scenes are often disappointingly cut short. A key moment is certainly when, goaded past his limit in the training facility one day by Hamed as a misguided “old man”, the trainer in fact offers to step into the ring and fight him. Everyone in the room is shocked and uneasy. How exactly is this insanely risky standoff going to play out? What will be the ending? Certainly the Prince is going to defeat him? Or will he sentimentally hold back? The resolution remains ambiguous.

Highlights and Humor

This isn’t to imply that there aren’t some good moments. Brosnan elicits humor when his character tells a journalist what he’s teaching the kids from his neighborhood: to reject bias and when you encounter a paedophile, “Punch him in the bollocks”. It’s funny too when the boxer squirms at the silly stunts Ingle makes him do in the early days: posing as the “monster from the Middle East”.

Plot and Conclusion

Regarding the falling out, the movie shows this as being exacerbated by a revealing book that Ingle is allegedly written (a story element clearly adapted from another source), and there is an interestingly conceived last discussion – however the heartfelt homage that the boxer is supposed to have given to his mentor after his death is merely mentioned in the closing credits, and not dramatised on film. Some interesting material in this film, but the punches fail to connect.

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