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The movie boasts a talented ensemble, depicting the real-life tale of Irish boxing trainer Brendan Ingle, who mentored a brash Yorkshire teenager from Yemeni immigrant parents. Dubbed Naseem Hamed, the youngster was coached to confront prejudice and molded into a celebrity world champion in the late 90s. Ingle nurtured his flamboyant confidence and powerful punches, but after becoming rich, Hamed betrayed his mentor, cutting him out and making him a blend of Falstaff and Danny Rose.

Cast and Characters

Brosnan plays the trainer; Amir El-Masry embodies the part of the prince, and Stephens is the assertive London promoter Warren, who recognized the goldmine that Ingle had uncovered.

Film’s Shortcomings

Yet, the film honestly lacks the fighter’s agility: the boxing sequences flow well, but the crucial drama between them is consistently dull and monotonous. There is no subtlety or light and shade in the portrayal of the protagonist himself, and El-Masry, an otherwise outstanding performer, doesn’t get the chance to show any subtlety or much of what might make his character truly engaging – although he’s clearly been training and looks very plausible in the ring.

Dialogue and Music Issues

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 boxing journey at age seven …”). It is the sort of script that digital executives call “double-screen”, ensuring you understand what’s going on while you’re watching the film but also checking your device. And, the score is overbearing, at times nearly deafening, particularly in the moment where the boxer gets overexcited calling on Warren in his luxurious home.

Acting and Pivotal Scenes

Although the leads do their considerable best, their dynamic doesn’t quite ignites, and the major fight scenes are often disappointingly truncated. The most important scene is certainly when, provoked beyond endurance in the training facility one day by Hamed as a delusional “elder”, the trainer in fact offers to step into the ring and fight him. All present in the room is stunned and uncomfortable. How exactly is this insanely unwise standoff going to unfold? How precisely the ending? Surely the Prince is going to defeat 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 good moments. The actor elicits humor when Ingle tells a reporter what he’s teaching the youths from his local community: to reject bias and when you meet a paedophile, “Hit them in the bollocks”. Amusing too when the boxer fidgets at the ridiculous antics the coach makes him do in the beginning: acting like the “beast from the East”.

Storyline and Final Thoughts

Regarding the falling out, the film shows this as being exacerbated by a tell-all book that the trainer is allegedly written (a plot point clearly adapted from another source), and there is an interestingly imagined final conversation – however the heartfelt homage that the boxer is reportedly paid to his mentor after his passing is only referenced in the closing credits, and not dramatised on screen. Some interesting material in this film, but the blows don’t land.

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