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This film boasts a talented cast, depicting the real-life tale of coach Brendan Ingle, who mentored a cheeky Sheffield teenager from Middle Eastern migrant family. Known as “Prince” Naseem Hamed, the youngster was taught to stand up to prejudice and molded into a celebrity titleholder in the 1990s. Ingle nurtured his showboating arrogance and powerful punches, but after becoming rich, the boxer turned against his coach, excluding him and making him a blend of John Falstaff and Danny Rose.

Cast and Characters

Brosnan plays Ingle; Amir El-Masry embodies the part of Hamed, and Toby Stephens is the bullish London promoter Warren, who recognized the goldmine that Ingle had uncovered.

Where the Movie Falls Short

However, the film frankly misses the fighter’s agility: the fight scenes flow well, but the crucial story between them is repeatedly dull and one-note. There is no subtlety or contrast in the portrayal of Hamed himself, and El-Masry, an otherwise outstanding performer, isn’t given the chance to display any depth or much of what might make his role really interesting – even though he’s obviously been working out and looks very plausible in the ring.

Dialogue and Music Issues

The story is repeatedly lumbered with utilitarian, expositional lines that inform you precisely what is happening and what we are meant to feel (“Your journey began your boxing journey at seven years old …”). This is the sort of dialogue that digital executives call “double-screen”, making sure you know what’s unfolding while you’re viewing the movie but also glancing at your device. And, the background music is overpowering, sometimes nearly overwhelming, especially in the moment where Hamed gets overexcited visiting the promoter in his luxurious home.

Performances and Key Moments

Although the leads do their very best, their relationship never really ignites, and the big set-piece boxing moments are frequently disappointingly truncated. A key moment is surely when, goaded past his limit in the training facility one day by the boxer as a delusional “elder”, Ingle in fact proposes to get in the ring and fight him. Everyone in the room is shocked and uneasy. How exactly is this insanely unwise confrontation going to unfold? What will be the ending? Surely the champion is going to defeat him? Alternatively will he emotionally hold back? The resolution remains ambiguous.

Highlights and Humor

This isn’t to imply that there are no some nice jabs. Brosnan elicits humor when his character informs a reporter what he’s teaching the youths from his local community: to reject bias and when you encounter a paedophile, “Hit them in the bollocks”. Amusing too when the boxer fidgets at the silly antics the coach makes him do in the beginning: posing as the “beast from the East”.

Plot and Conclusion

Regarding the rift, the film depicts this as being exacerbated by a tell-all book that Ingle is allegedly authored (a plot point clearly adapted from prior material), and there is an interestingly conceived final conversation – however the heartfelt homage that Hamed is reportedly given to his mentor after his death is only referenced in the closing credits, and not shown on film. There is 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.