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This film boasts a talented cast, telling the real-life story of Irish boxing trainer Brendan Ingle, who guided a cheeky Yorkshire teenager from Yemeni immigrant family. Dubbed “Prince” Naseem Hamed, the youngster was coached to confront racist bullies and transformed into a media-friendly titleholder in the 1990s. The trainer cultivated his showboating confidence and lethal fists, but after becoming rich, Hamed turned against his coach, cutting him out and turning him into a mix of John Falstaff and Danny Rose.

Performers and Roles

Pierce Brosnan plays Ingle; El-Masry takes on the role of Hamed, and Stephens is the bullish promoter Frank Warren, who recognized the goldmine that the coach had uncovered.

Film’s Shortcomings

Yet, the film frankly lacks the Prince’s agility: the boxing sequences flow well, but the all-important story between them is consistently dull and one-note. It lacks subtlety or contrast in the portrayal of the protagonist himself, and El-Masry, an otherwise excellent talent, isn’t given the chance to display any depth or much of what might make his role really interesting – even though he’s clearly been training and appears convincing in the ring.

Problems with Script and Sound

The story is often burdened by utilitarian, expositional dialogue that tell you precisely what is going on and what we are supposed to be thinking (“Your journey began your career at seven years old …”). This is the sort of script that streaming-TV producers call “double-screen”, making sure you understand what’s unfolding while you’re viewing the movie but also glancing at your device. Additionally, the score is overpowering, sometimes almost overwhelming, especially in the scene where Hamed gets too excited calling on Warren in his luxurious home.

Performances and Key Moments

Although El-Masry and Brosnan do their very utmost, their dynamic doesn’t quite comes to life, and the major fight scenes are often anticlimactically cut short. The most important scene is certainly when, provoked beyond endurance in the gym one day by Hamed as a delusional “elder”, Ingle actually offers to step into the ring and fight him. All present in the gym is shocked and uneasy. In what way is this insanely unwise standoff going to unfold? What will be the outcome? Surely the champion 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 aren’t some good moments. The actor gets laughs when his character tells a journalist what he’s instructing the youths from his local community: to reject bias and when you encounter a offender, “Punch him in the groin”. It’s funny too when Hamed squirms at the ridiculous stunts the coach makes him do in the beginning: acting like the “monster from the East”.

Storyline and Final Thoughts

As for the falling out, the movie shows this as being worsened by a revealing book that the trainer is supposed to have authored (a story element evidently modified from prior material), and there is an intriguingly imagined last discussion – however the heartfelt homage that Hamed is supposed to have given to Ingle after his death is only mentioned in the closing credits, and not dramatised on film. Some interesting material in this film, but the blows don’t land.

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