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The movie boasts a impressive ensemble, telling the true tale of coach Brendan Ingle, who guided a brash Sheffield teenager from Yemeni migrant parents. Known as “Prince” Naseem Hamed, the youngster was taught to confront racist bullies and transformed into a media-friendly world champion in the late 90s. Ingle nurtured his showboating confidence and lethal fists, but after achieving wealth, the boxer turned against his coach, excluding him and turning him into a mix of Falstaff and Broadway Danny Rose.

Performers and Roles

Brosnan portrays the trainer; Amir El-Masry takes on the part of Hamed, and Toby Stephens is the assertive promoter Warren, who saw the goldmine that Ingle had discovered.

Where the Movie Falls Short

However, the movie honestly lacks the Prince’s agility: the fight scenes flow well, but the crucial story in between is consistently dull and one-note. There is no subtlety or contrast in the depiction of the protagonist himself, and the actor, an otherwise outstanding performer, doesn’t get the chance to display any subtlety or much of what might make his character really interesting – even though he’s clearly been training and looks very plausible in the boxing arena.

Problems with Script and Sound

The story is often lumbered with utilitarian, explanatory dialogue that inform you exactly what is happening and what we are supposed to be thinking (“Your journey began your career at seven years old …”). This is the sort of dialogue that digital executives call “second-screen”, ensuring you understand what’s unfolding while you’re viewing the film but also checking your device. And, the score is overpowering, sometimes nearly deafening, particularly in the moment where the boxer gets overexcited visiting the promoter in his palatial residence.

Performances and Key Moments

Although El-Masry and Brosnan do their very utmost, their dynamic never really comes to life, and the major boxing moments are frequently disappointingly truncated. A key scene is surely when, goaded beyond endurance in the training facility one day by Hamed as a misguided “elder”, Ingle in fact proposes to get in the ring and fight him. All present in the room is shocked and uncomfortable. In what way is this extremely unwise confrontation going to play out? What will be the outcome? Surely the champion is going to kill him? Alternatively will he sentimentally 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 Ingle informs a journalist what he’s teaching the youths from his local community: to reject prejudice and when you meet 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: acting like the “monster from the Middle East”.

Storyline and Final Thoughts

Regarding the falling out, the movie shows this as being worsened by a revealing publication that the trainer is supposed to have written (a story element clearly adapted from prior material), and there is an intriguingly conceived last discussion – although the emotional tribute that Hamed is supposed to have paid to his mentor after his death is merely referenced in the closing credits, and not shown on screen. Some interesting material here, but the blows fail to connect.

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