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The movie features a talented ensemble, depicting the real-life story of Irish boxing trainer Ingle, who guided a cheeky Sheffield youth from Yemeni migrant family. Dubbed “Prince” Naseem Hamed, the fighter was coached to confront prejudice and transformed into a celebrity world champion in the late 90s. Ingle cultivated his showboating confidence and lethal fists, but after becoming rich, the boxer turned against his coach, excluding him and turning him into a mix of Falstaff and Broadway Danny Rose.

Performers and Roles

Pierce Brosnan portrays Ingle; El-Masry embodies the role of Hamed, and Stephens appears as the assertive London promoter Warren, who saw the potential that the coach had discovered.

Film’s Shortcomings

However, the movie frankly misses the Prince’s fancy footwork: the fight scenes flow well, but the all-important story between them is consistently dull and monotonous. There is no nuance or light and shade in the depiction of the protagonist himself, and the actor, an otherwise outstanding performer, doesn’t get the opportunity to display any subtlety or much of what might make his role truly engaging – even though he’s clearly been working out and appears convincing in the ring.

Problems with Script and Sound

The story is repeatedly burdened by utilitarian, expositional lines that inform you precisely what is going on and what we are meant to feel (“You started your career at seven years old …”). It is the kind of script that streaming-TV producers call “second-screen”, ensuring you know what’s going on while you’re viewing the film but also checking your device. And, the score is overbearing, at times almost overwhelming, especially in the moment where the boxer gets overexcited calling on Warren in his luxurious residence.

Performances and Key Moments

While El-Masry and Brosnan do their considerable utmost, their relationship doesn’t quite ignites, and the major fight scenes are often anticlimactically cut short. A key moment is surely when, goaded past his limit in the gym one day by Hamed as a misguided “old man”, Ingle 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 unfold? How precisely the ending? Certainly the champion is going to kill him? Or will he sentimentally pull his punches? The resolution remains ambiguous.

Bright Spots and Comedy

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 instructing the kids from his local community: to oppose bias and when you encounter a paedophile, “Punch him in the groin”. It’s funny too when Hamed squirms at the ridiculous stunts Ingle makes him do in the early days: posing as the “monster from the Middle East”.

Plot and Conclusion

Regarding the rift, the movie depicts this as being worsened by a revealing book that Ingle is supposed to have written (a plot point clearly adapted from prior material), and there is an intriguingly conceived final conversation – although the heartfelt homage that the boxer is reportedly given to his mentor after his death is merely mentioned in the closing credits, and not dramatised on film. Some interesting material in this film, but the blows fail to connect.

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