This film boasts a talented ensemble, depicting the true story of coach Ingle, who mentored a cheeky Sheffield teenager from Middle Eastern immigrant parents. Dubbed “Prince” Naseem Hamed, the fighter was coached to stand up to racist bullies and molded into a media-friendly titleholder in the 1990s. Ingle nurtured his showboating arrogance and powerful punches, but after achieving wealth, Hamed turned against his mentor, cutting him out and making him a mix of Falstaff and Broadway Danny Rose.
Performers and Roles
Brosnan plays Ingle; El-Masry takes on the part of Hamed, and Toby Stephens is the assertive London promoter Warren, who recognized the goldmine that the coach had discovered.
Film’s Shortcomings
However, the film honestly misses the Prince’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 contrast in the depiction of Hamed himself, and the actor, an otherwise outstanding performer, doesn’t get the opportunity to show any subtlety or much of what might make his role really interesting – although he’s clearly been training and looks very plausible in the ring.
Problems with Script and Sound
The drama is repeatedly lumbered with functional, explanatory dialogue that inform you exactly what is going on and what we are meant to feel (“You started your boxing journey at age seven …”). This is the kind of script that digital executives call “second-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 overpowering, sometimes nearly deafening, especially in the moment where Hamed gets overexcited calling on Warren in his luxurious residence.
Performances and Key Moments
Although El-Masry and Brosnan do their considerable best, their relationship doesn’t quite ignites, and the major boxing moments are frequently anticlimactically truncated. The most important moment is surely when, provoked past his limit in the training facility one day by Hamed as a delusional “old man”, the trainer in fact proposes to get in the ring and box him. All present in the gym is shocked and uncomfortable. In what way is this extremely unwise standoff going to unfold? What will be the ending? Surely the champion is going to kill him? Alternatively will he emotionally pull his punches? The resolution remains ambiguous.
Highlights and Humor
That’s not to say that there aren’t some nice jabs. Brosnan gets laughs when his character tells a reporter what he’s teaching the kids from his local community: to oppose bias and when you encounter a offender, “Hit them in the bollocks”. It’s funny too when Hamed squirms at the silly antics the coach makes him do in the early days: posing as the “beast from the East”.
Storyline and Final Thoughts
Regarding the rift, the movie shows this as being exacerbated by a tell-all book that the trainer is supposed to have written (a plot point evidently modified from another source), and there is an interestingly imagined final conversation – although the emotional tribute that the boxer is reportedly given to Ingle after his death is only mentioned 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 British and Irish cinemas from 9 January.
