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The movie boasts a talented cast, depicting the real-life story of coach Ingle, who mentored a cheeky Yorkshire youth from Yemeni migrant parents. Known as “Prince” Naseem Hamed, the youngster was taught to confront prejudice and molded into a media-friendly world champion in the late 90s. The trainer cultivated his flamboyant arrogance and powerful punches, but after becoming rich, the boxer betrayed his mentor, cutting him out and turning him into a mix of Falstaff and Broadway Danny Rose.

Cast and Characters

Brosnan plays the trainer; Amir El-Masry takes on the role of the prince, and Toby Stephens appears as the assertive London promoter Warren, who recognized the goldmine that the coach had discovered.

Film’s Shortcomings

However, the movie honestly lacks the fighter’s agility: the fight scenes flow well, but the crucial drama between them is consistently dull and one-note. There is no subtlety or contrast in the portrayal of the protagonist himself, and the actor, an otherwise excellent talent, isn’t given the chance to display any subtlety or much of what might make his character truly engaging – although he’s clearly been working out and looks very plausible in the ring.

Dialogue and Music Issues

The story is often lumbered with functional, explanatory dialogue that inform you precisely what is happening and what we are meant to feel (“You started your boxing journey at age seven …”). This is the kind of dialogue that digital producers call “second-screen”, making sure you understand what’s going on while you’re viewing the film but also glancing at your device. Additionally, the score is overbearing, at times nearly overwhelming, particularly in the scene where Hamed gets too excited visiting the promoter in his luxurious residence.

Performances and Key Moments

While El-Masry and Brosnan do their very utmost, their dynamic never really ignites, and the big set-piece boxing moments are frequently disappointingly cut short. The most important scene is surely when, goaded beyond endurance in the gym one day by the boxer as a delusional “elder”, Ingle in fact proposes to step into the ring and box him. All present in the room is stunned and uneasy. How exactly is this extremely risky standoff going to play out? What will be the ending? Certainly the Prince is going to defeat him? Or will he sentimentally pull his punches? The resolution remains ambiguous.

Bright Spots and Comedy

This isn’t to imply that there are no some good moments. Brosnan gets laughs when Ingle informs a journalist what he’s instructing the kids from his local community: to reject prejudice and when you meet a paedophile, “Punch him in the bollocks”. Amusing too when the boxer squirms 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

As for the falling out, the movie shows this as being exacerbated by a revealing publication that the trainer is supposed to have written (a story element evidently adapted from another source), and there is an interestingly imagined last discussion – however the heartfelt homage that the boxer is reportedly given to his mentor after his passing is only mentioned in the end titles, and not dramatised on film. Some engaging content here, but the blows don’t land.

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