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This film features a talented cast, telling the real-life story of coach Brendan Ingle, who mentored a brash Sheffield teenager from Middle Eastern immigrant family. Known as “Prince” Naseem Hamed, the fighter was taught to stand up to racist bullies and molded into a celebrity titleholder in the late 90s. Ingle nurtured his flamboyant arrogance and lethal fists, but after becoming rich, the boxer betrayed his mentor, excluding him and turning him into a blend of Falstaff and Danny Rose.

Performers and Roles

Brosnan plays Ingle; Amir El-Masry takes on the role of Hamed, and Toby Stephens appears as the assertive London promoter Frank Warren, who recognized the potential that Ingle had discovered.

Film’s Shortcomings

Yet, the movie frankly misses the fighter’s fancy footwork: the boxing sequences flow well, but the all-important story in between is repeatedly dull and monotonous. It lacks nuance or contrast in the portrayal of Hamed himself, and the actor, an otherwise outstanding performer, isn’t given the chance to show any subtlety or much of what might make his character really interesting – although he’s clearly been training and appears convincing in the ring.

Dialogue and Music Issues

The story is repeatedly lumbered with utilitarian, expositional dialogue that tell you exactly what is going on and what we are meant to feel (“Your journey began your boxing journey at age seven …”). This is the kind of script that streaming-TV producers call “double-screen”, making sure you understand what’s unfolding while you’re viewing the movie but also checking your device. And, the background music is overpowering, at times almost overwhelming, especially in the moment where Hamed gets too excited calling on Warren in his luxurious residence.

Performances and Key Moments

While the leads do their considerable utmost, their dynamic doesn’t quite comes to life, and the big set-piece fight scenes are often anticlimactically cut short. The most important scene is surely when, goaded beyond endurance in the gym one day by the boxer as a misguided “old man”, Ingle actually proposes to step into the ring and box him. All present in the gym is stunned and uncomfortable. In what way is this insanely risky standoff going to unfold? What will be the ending? Surely the Prince is going to kill him? Alternatively will he emotionally hold back? It’s not clear.

Highlights and Humor

That’s not to say that there aren’t some nice jabs. The actor gets laughs when his character informs a reporter what he’s teaching the kids from his local community: to oppose bias and when you encounter a offender, “Hit them in the bollocks”. It’s funny too when Hamed squirms at the ridiculous stunts the coach makes him do in the beginning: posing as the “monster from the East”.

Plot and Conclusion

As for the falling out, the film depicts this as being exacerbated by a tell-all publication that the trainer is supposed to have written (a plot point evidently modified from prior material), and there is an intriguingly imagined last discussion – however the emotional tribute that Hamed is reportedly given to Ingle after his passing is merely mentioned in the end titles, and not dramatised on film. Some interesting material in this film, but the punches don’t land.

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