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This film features a talented ensemble, telling the true tale of coach Ingle, who guided a cheeky Yorkshire teenager from Middle Eastern migrant family. Known as “Prince” Naseem Hamed, the fighter was taught to stand up to prejudice and transformed into a media-friendly titleholder in the 1990s. The trainer nurtured his flamboyant confidence and powerful punches, but after achieving wealth, the boxer betrayed his coach, cutting him out and turning him into a blend of Falstaff and Danny Rose.

Cast and Characters

Pierce Brosnan portrays the trainer; El-Masry takes on the part of Hamed, and Toby Stephens is the bullish promoter Frank Warren, who saw the goldmine that the coach had uncovered.

Where the Movie Falls Short

Yet, the film frankly lacks the Prince’s fancy footwork: the boxing sequences flow well, but the all-important story between them is repeatedly dull and monotonous. There is no subtlety or light and shade in the depiction of Hamed himself, and the actor, an otherwise excellent talent, doesn’t get the chance to display 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 ring.

Problems with Script and Sound

The drama is often lumbered with functional, explanatory lines that inform you precisely what is going on and what we are meant to feel (“You started your career at seven years old …”). This is the sort of script that streaming-TV producers call “second-screen”, making sure you understand what’s unfolding while you’re viewing the film but also glancing at your phone. Additionally, the background music is overpowering, at times nearly overwhelming, especially in the scene where the boxer gets too excited calling on the promoter in his palatial residence.

Acting and Pivotal Scenes

Although El-Masry and Brosnan do their considerable utmost, their dynamic never really ignites, and the major boxing moments are often disappointingly truncated. The most important moment is certainly when, provoked past his limit in the gym one day by the boxer as a delusional “elder”, the trainer in fact proposes to step into the ring and box him. All present in the gym is stunned and uncomfortable. In what way is this extremely unwise confrontation going to play out? What will be the outcome? Certainly the champion is going to defeat him? Alternatively will he sentimentally hold back? It’s not clear.

Highlights and Humor

This isn’t to imply that there aren’t some good moments. The actor gets laughs when his character tells a reporter what he’s instructing the kids from his local community: to oppose bias and when you meet a paedophile, “Punch him in the groin”. Amusing too when the boxer squirms at the ridiculous stunts the coach makes him do in the beginning: posing as the “beast from the East”.

Storyline and Final Thoughts

As for the falling out, the film depicts this as being worsened by a tell-all book that Ingle is allegedly written (a plot point clearly modified from prior material), and there is an intriguingly imagined final conversation – however the emotional tribute that Hamed is supposed to have paid to his mentor after his death is only referenced in the end titles, and not shown on film. There is interesting material in this film, but the blows don’t land.

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