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The movie features a talented ensemble, telling the real-life tale of Irish boxing trainer Ingle, who guided a brash Yorkshire youth from Middle Eastern migrant family. Known as Naseem Hamed, the youngster was taught to stand up to prejudice and molded into a media-friendly titleholder in the 1990s. The trainer cultivated his flamboyant confidence and lethal fists, but after achieving wealth, Hamed betrayed his mentor, excluding him and making him a mix of Falstaff and Broadway Danny Rose.

Cast and Characters

Pierce Brosnan plays Ingle; El-Masry embodies the part of the prince, and Stephens is the assertive London promoter Warren, who saw the potential that the coach had discovered.

Film’s Shortcomings

However, the film honestly misses the Prince’s fancy footwork: the fight scenes flow well, but the all-important drama in between is repeatedly dull and one-note. There is no nuance or contrast in the portrayal of Hamed himself, and El-Masry, an otherwise excellent talent, doesn’t get the chance to show any depth or much of what might make his character truly engaging – although he’s clearly been training and looks very plausible in the boxing arena.

Problems with Script and Sound

The drama is repeatedly burdened by functional, explanatory lines that inform you precisely what is going on and what we are meant to feel (“Your journey began your career at seven years old …”). This is the kind of script that digital executives call “double-screen”, ensuring you understand what’s going on while you’re watching the movie but also checking your phone. Additionally, the score is overpowering, sometimes nearly overwhelming, particularly in the moment where Hamed gets too excited visiting Warren in his palatial residence.

Acting and Pivotal Scenes

Although El-Masry and Brosnan do their considerable utmost, their relationship never really ignites, and the big set-piece fight scenes are frequently disappointingly cut short. A key moment is surely when, provoked beyond endurance in the training facility one day by the boxer as a misguided “old man”, Ingle actually proposes to step into the ring and fight him. All present in the gym is stunned and uneasy. In what way is this insanely risky confrontation going to unfold? How precisely the outcome? Certainly the Prince is going to defeat him? Or will he sentimentally pull his punches? The resolution remains ambiguous.

Highlights and Humor

That’s not to say that there aren’t some nice jabs. Brosnan gets laughs when Ingle tells a reporter what he’s teaching the kids from his local community: to reject bias and when you encounter a paedophile, “Punch him in the groin”. Amusing too when Hamed fidgets at the silly stunts Ingle makes him do in the early days: acting like the “monster from the Middle East”.

Plot and Conclusion

Regarding the rift, the film shows this as being worsened by a tell-all publication that Ingle is supposed to have authored (a plot point clearly adapted from another source), and there is an interestingly conceived last discussion – although the heartfelt homage that the boxer is reportedly given to Ingle after his passing is merely referenced in the closing credits, and not dramatised on screen. There is engaging content here, but the blows don’t land.

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