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This film boasts a talented ensemble, depicting the true tale of Irish boxing trainer Ingle, who mentored a brash Sheffield teenager from Yemeni migrant family. Known as “Prince” Naseem Hamed, the youngster was taught to confront racist bullies and molded into a celebrity world champion in the 1990s. Ingle cultivated his showboating confidence and lethal fists, but after becoming rich, Hamed betrayed his mentor, excluding him and turning him into a blend of John Falstaff and Broadway Danny Rose.

Performers and Roles

Brosnan plays the trainer; El-Masry embodies the role of the prince, and Toby Stephens appears as the bullish London promoter Warren, who recognized the potential that Ingle had uncovered.

Film’s Shortcomings

Yet, the film frankly lacks the Prince’s agility: the fight scenes run smoothly, but the crucial story in between is repeatedly flat and monotonous. There is no subtlety or contrast in the portrayal of Hamed himself, and the actor, an otherwise excellent talent, isn’t given the opportunity to show any depth or much of what might make his role truly engaging – even though he’s clearly been working out and appears convincing in the boxing arena.

Dialogue and Music Issues

The drama is repeatedly lumbered with utilitarian, explanatory dialogue that tell you precisely what is happening and what we are meant to feel (“You started your career at age seven …”). It is the sort of script that digital executives call “double-screen”, making sure you know what’s unfolding while you’re viewing the movie but also glancing at your phone. Additionally, the score is overbearing, at times almost overwhelming, especially in the scene where Hamed gets overexcited visiting the promoter in his luxurious home.

Performances and Key Moments

Although the leads do their very best, their relationship doesn’t quite comes to life, and the big set-piece boxing moments are often disappointingly truncated. A key moment is surely when, goaded past his limit in the training facility one day by Hamed as a delusional “elder”, the trainer in fact proposes to step into the ring and fight him. Everyone in the room is stunned and uneasy. In what way is this insanely risky standoff going to play out? How precisely the outcome? Certainly the Prince is going to defeat him? Or will he emotionally hold back? It’s not clear.

Highlights and Humor

This isn’t to imply that there are no some good moments. The actor gets laughs when his character informs a reporter what he’s teaching the kids from his neighborhood: to oppose prejudice and when you encounter a offender, “Punch him 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 “beast from the Middle East”.

Plot and Conclusion

Regarding the rift, the film depicts this as being exacerbated by a tell-all publication that Ingle is supposed to have authored (a story element evidently adapted from another source), and there is an interestingly conceived last discussion – however the heartfelt homage that the boxer is supposed to have paid to his mentor after his passing is only referenced in the end titles, and not shown on film. There is engaging content in this film, but the blows don’t land.

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