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This film boasts a talented cast, depicting the real-life story of Irish boxing trainer Brendan Ingle, who mentored a cheeky Yorkshire teenager from Yemeni immigrant parents. Dubbed “Prince” Naseem Hamed, the fighter was taught to confront racist bullies and molded into a celebrity titleholder in the 1990s. Ingle nurtured his flamboyant confidence and lethal fists, but after achieving wealth, Hamed betrayed his coach, excluding him and making him a mix of John Falstaff and Danny Rose.

Performers and Roles

Pierce Brosnan plays the trainer; Amir El-Masry takes on the part of Hamed, and Stephens appears as the bullish London promoter Frank Warren, who recognized the goldmine that the coach had discovered.

Film’s Shortcomings

However, the film frankly misses the fighter’s fancy footwork: the boxing sequences run smoothly, but the all-important story between them is consistently dull and one-note. There is no subtlety or light and shade in the depiction of the protagonist himself, and El-Masry, an otherwise excellent talent, isn’t given the chance to show any depth or much of what might make his character truly engaging – even though he’s obviously been working out and appears convincing in the boxing arena.

Problems with Script and Sound

The drama is often lumbered with functional, explanatory lines that tell you exactly what is happening and what we are meant to feel (“Your journey began your career at seven years old …”). It is the sort of dialogue that streaming-TV producers call “double-screen”, ensuring you understand what’s going on while you’re watching the film but also glancing at your device. And, the background music is overbearing, at times almost overwhelming, especially in the scene where the boxer gets too excited calling on Warren in his luxurious residence.

Performances and Key Moments

While the leads do their very utmost, their dynamic doesn’t quite comes to life, and the major fight scenes are frequently disappointingly truncated. The most important moment is surely when, provoked beyond endurance in the gym one day by Hamed as a delusional “old man”, the trainer in fact offers to get in the ring and box him. All present in the room is shocked and uneasy. In what way is this extremely unwise standoff going to unfold? What will be the outcome? Certainly the champion is going to defeat him? Alternatively will he sentimentally pull his punches? The resolution remains ambiguous.

Highlights and Humor

That’s not to say that there aren’t some nice jabs. The actor gets laughs when Ingle informs a reporter what he’s teaching the youths from his local community: to oppose bias and when you meet a paedophile, “Punch him in the bollocks”. Amusing too when Hamed squirms at the ridiculous stunts the coach makes him do in the beginning: acting like the “monster from the Middle East”.

Plot and Conclusion

As for the falling out, the film depicts this as being worsened by a tell-all publication that the trainer is allegedly written (a story element clearly modified from prior material), and there is an interestingly imagined last discussion – although the heartfelt homage that the boxer is reportedly paid to his mentor after his passing is only mentioned in the end titles, and not dramatised on film. There is engaging content in this film, but the punches fail to connect.

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