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The movie boasts a talented cast, depicting the real-life tale of Irish boxing trainer Brendan Ingle, who mentored a cheeky Sheffield teenager from Yemeni immigrant parents. Dubbed “Prince” Naseem Hamed, the youngster was taught to confront racist bullies and molded into a media-friendly world champion in the 1990s. Ingle nurtured his showboating confidence and powerful punches, but after achieving wealth, Hamed turned against his coach, cutting him out and making him a blend of John Falstaff and Broadway Danny Rose.

Cast and Characters

Pierce Brosnan plays Ingle; El-Masry takes on the role of Hamed, and Stephens appears as the bullish London promoter Frank Warren, who saw the goldmine that the coach had uncovered.

Where the Movie Falls Short

However, the film frankly lacks the fighter’s fancy footwork: the boxing sequences flow well, but the all-important drama between them is repeatedly flat and one-note. There is no subtlety or contrast in the depiction of the protagonist himself, and the actor, an otherwise outstanding performer, isn’t given the chance to show any subtlety or much of what might make his role really interesting – even though he’s obviously been working out and appears convincing in the boxing arena.

Problems with Script and Sound

The story is repeatedly lumbered with utilitarian, expositional lines that inform you precisely what is happening and what we are meant to feel (“You started your boxing journey at age seven …”). This is the kind of dialogue that streaming-TV producers call “double-screen”, ensuring you know what’s going on while you’re viewing the movie but also checking your device. Additionally, the background music is overpowering, at times nearly deafening, especially in the moment where the boxer gets too excited calling on Warren in his palatial residence.

Performances and Key Moments

Although the leads do their considerable best, their relationship doesn’t quite ignites, and the big set-piece fight scenes are often anticlimactically truncated. The most important moment is certainly when, provoked beyond endurance 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 gym is stunned and uneasy. In what way is this insanely unwise standoff going to unfold? What will be the outcome? Certainly the champion is going to kill him? Alternatively will he sentimentally hold back? It’s not clear.

Bright Spots and Comedy

That’s not to say that there are no some good moments. The actor gets laughs when Ingle informs a journalist what he’s teaching the kids from his neighborhood: to reject bias and when you meet a offender, “Hit them in the bollocks”. Amusing too when the boxer fidgets at the ridiculous stunts the coach makes him do in the early days: posing as the “monster from the East”.

Plot and Conclusion

Regarding the falling out, the film depicts this as being worsened by a revealing book that Ingle is allegedly authored (a plot point evidently modified from prior material), and there is an intriguingly imagined last discussion – however the emotional tribute that the boxer is reportedly paid to his mentor after his passing is only referenced in the closing credits, and not shown on film. There is engaging content here, but the blows fail to connect.

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