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The movie boasts a impressive ensemble, depicting the true story of coach Brendan Ingle, who mentored a cheeky Sheffield teenager from Yemeni migrant parents. Known as “Prince” Naseem Hamed, the fighter was coached to stand up to racist bullies and transformed into a celebrity titleholder in the 1990s. Ingle nurtured his showboating arrogance and powerful punches, but after achieving wealth, Hamed turned against his coach, cutting him out and turning him into a blend of Falstaff and Broadway Danny Rose.

Cast and Characters

Brosnan plays the trainer; El-Masry embodies the role of the prince, and Stephens is the assertive promoter Warren, who recognized the potential that Ingle had uncovered.

Film’s Shortcomings

However, the film honestly misses the fighter’s agility: the boxing sequences run smoothly, but the crucial drama between them is consistently flat and one-note. There is no nuance or light and shade in the depiction of Hamed himself, and the actor, an otherwise outstanding performer, isn’t given the chance to display any depth or much of what might make his character really interesting – even though he’s obviously been working out and appears convincing in the boxing arena.

Problems with Script and Sound

The story is repeatedly lumbered with functional, explanatory lines that inform you precisely what is going on and what we are meant to feel (“You started your career at age seven …”). It is the kind of script 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 score is overbearing, at times almost deafening, especially in the moment where Hamed gets overexcited calling on Warren in his luxurious residence.

Performances and Key Moments

Although El-Masry and Brosnan do their very utmost, their relationship never really comes to life, and the major boxing moments are often disappointingly truncated. A key moment is surely when, goaded beyond endurance in the gym one day by the boxer as a delusional “elder”, Ingle actually proposes to get in the ring and fight him. All present in the gym is shocked and uncomfortable. How exactly is this insanely risky standoff going to play out? How precisely the ending? Surely the champion is going to defeat him? Or will he sentimentally hold back? The resolution remains ambiguous.

Highlights and Humor

That’s not to say that there aren’t some nice jabs. Brosnan gets laughs when Ingle informs a journalist what he’s instructing the kids from his local community: to reject prejudice and when you meet a offender, “Punch him in the bollocks”. Amusing too when the boxer squirms at the ridiculous antics Ingle makes him do in the early days: acting like the “monster from the East”.

Storyline and Final Thoughts

Regarding the rift, the film shows this as being exacerbated by a tell-all publication that Ingle is supposed to have written (a plot point evidently modified from another source), and there is an interestingly imagined last discussion – although the emotional tribute that the boxer is supposed to have paid to Ingle after his passing is merely mentioned in the end titles, and not shown on film. There is interesting material in this film, but the blows don’t land.

Giant was shown at the festival and is available in British and Irish theaters from January 9.