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This film features a talented ensemble, telling the real-life story of coach Brendan Ingle, who guided a cheeky Sheffield teenager from Middle Eastern migrant parents. Dubbed “Prince” Naseem Hamed, the fighter was taught to confront prejudice and transformed into a media-friendly world champion in the late 90s. Ingle cultivated his showboating confidence and lethal fists, but after becoming rich, Hamed betrayed his mentor, cutting him out and making him a blend of John Falstaff and Broadway Danny Rose.

Cast and Characters

Pierce Brosnan portrays Ingle; El-Masry embodies the part of Hamed, and Stephens appears as the assertive London promoter Frank Warren, who recognized the goldmine that Ingle had uncovered.

Where the Movie Falls Short

However, the film honestly misses the fighter’s fancy footwork: the boxing sequences flow well, but the all-important drama between them is consistently flat and monotonous. It lacks subtlety or contrast in the depiction of Hamed 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 truly engaging – even though he’s obviously been working out and appears convincing in the boxing arena.

Problems with Script and Sound

The story is often lumbered with functional, expositional dialogue that tell you exactly what is happening and what we are supposed to be thinking (“You started your boxing journey at age seven …”). This is the sort of dialogue that streaming-TV producers call “second-screen”, making sure you understand what’s going on while you’re viewing the movie but also glancing at your device. Additionally, the background music is overpowering, sometimes almost overwhelming, especially in the moment where the boxer gets too excited calling on Warren in his palatial residence.

Acting and Pivotal Scenes

Although the leads do their considerable utmost, their relationship doesn’t quite ignites, and the major fight scenes are often disappointingly cut short. The most important scene is certainly when, goaded past his limit in the gym one day by the boxer as a delusional “elder”, the trainer actually proposes to step into the ring and fight him. Everyone in the room is shocked and uneasy. In what way is this extremely unwise confrontation going to unfold? What will be the outcome? Certainly the champion is going to defeat him? Or will he emotionally pull his punches? It’s not clear.

Highlights and Humor

That’s not to say that there are no some nice jabs. The actor elicits humor when Ingle informs a reporter what he’s teaching the youths from his neighborhood: to reject bias and when you encounter a paedophile, “Punch him in the bollocks”. Amusing too when Hamed fidgets at the ridiculous stunts Ingle makes him do in the early days: posing as the “monster from the Middle East”.

Storyline and Final Thoughts

Regarding the falling out, the movie depicts this as being worsened by a revealing publication that Ingle is allegedly written (a story element evidently modified from prior material), and there is an intriguingly imagined final conversation – although the heartfelt homage that the boxer is reportedly paid to his mentor after his passing is only mentioned in the closing credits, and not shown on film. Some engaging content here, but the punches don’t land.

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