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This film features a impressive cast, depicting the real-life tale of Irish boxing trainer Ingle, who mentored a cheeky Yorkshire youth from Middle Eastern immigrant parents. Dubbed Naseem Hamed, the youngster was coached to stand up to racist bullies and transformed into a celebrity titleholder in the 1990s. Ingle cultivated his showboating arrogance and lethal fists, but after becoming rich, the boxer turned against his coach, cutting him out and making him a mix of Falstaff and Danny Rose.

Cast and Characters

Brosnan plays Ingle; El-Masry takes on the role of the prince, and Toby Stephens is the bullish promoter Warren, who recognized the potential that Ingle had uncovered.

Where the Movie Falls Short

Yet, the movie frankly misses the Prince’s fancy footwork: the fight scenes flow well, but the all-important story between them is repeatedly flat and one-note. There is no nuance or light and shade 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 role 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, expositional dialogue that tell you precisely what is going on and what we are supposed to be thinking (“You started your boxing journey at age seven …”). This is the kind of script that digital executives call “second-screen”, ensuring you know what’s going on while you’re viewing the movie but also glancing at your device. Additionally, the score is overpowering, sometimes almost deafening, especially in the moment where the boxer gets too excited visiting the promoter in his palatial home.

Acting and Pivotal Scenes

While the leads do their very utmost, their dynamic never really ignites, and the big set-piece boxing moments are often anticlimactically cut short. The most important moment is surely when, provoked beyond endurance in the gym one day by Hamed as a misguided “old man”, the trainer in fact proposes to get in the ring and box him. Everyone in the room is shocked and uncomfortable. How exactly is this extremely unwise standoff going to unfold? How precisely the outcome? Certainly the champion is going to defeat him? Alternatively will he sentimentally hold back? The resolution remains ambiguous.

Bright Spots and Comedy

That’s not to say that there aren’t some nice jabs. The actor elicits humor when his character tells a journalist what he’s teaching the kids from his neighborhood: to reject bias and when you meet a offender, “Punch him in the groin”. It’s funny too when the boxer fidgets at the ridiculous antics Ingle makes him do in the early days: acting like the “monster from the East”.

Storyline and Final Thoughts

As for the rift, the movie depicts this as being exacerbated by a revealing book that Ingle is supposed to have authored (a plot point clearly adapted from prior material), and there is an intriguingly conceived final conversation – although the heartfelt homage that Hamed is supposed to have given to his mentor after his passing is only referenced in the end titles, and not shown on screen. Some engaging content here, but the punches fail to connect.

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