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The movie boasts a talented cast, depicting the real-life tale of coach Ingle, who mentored a cheeky Yorkshire youth from Middle Eastern migrant parents. Known as Naseem Hamed, the fighter was taught to confront racist bullies and transformed into a media-friendly titleholder in the 1990s. Ingle cultivated his showboating confidence and powerful punches, but after achieving wealth, Hamed betrayed 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 role of Hamed, and Stephens is the bullish London promoter Warren, who recognized the goldmine that Ingle had discovered.

Where the Movie Falls Short

Yet, the movie honestly misses the Prince’s agility: the fight scenes run smoothly, but the all-important story in between is consistently dull and one-note. There is no nuance or contrast in the portrayal of Hamed himself, and the actor, an otherwise outstanding performer, doesn’t get the chance to display any subtlety or much of what might make his role really interesting – although he’s clearly been training and appears convincing in the ring.

Dialogue and Music Issues

The story is often lumbered with functional, explanatory lines that inform you precisely what is happening and what we are supposed to be thinking (“Your journey began your career at age seven …”). It is the kind of script that streaming-TV producers call “second-screen”, making sure you understand what’s unfolding while you’re watching the film but also glancing at your device. Additionally, the background music is overbearing, sometimes almost deafening, especially in the moment where the boxer gets too excited calling on Warren in his palatial residence.

Acting and Pivotal Scenes

Although El-Masry and Brosnan do their considerable best, their dynamic doesn’t quite ignites, and the major boxing moments are often disappointingly truncated. A key moment is certainly when, goaded beyond endurance in the training facility one day by the boxer as a misguided “elder”, the trainer actually proposes to get in the ring and box him. All present in the gym is stunned and uneasy. In what way is this insanely unwise standoff going to play out? What will be the outcome? 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 are no some nice jabs. Brosnan elicits humor when Ingle tells 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 groin”. Amusing too when the boxer fidgets at the silly antics the coach makes him do in the early days: posing as the “beast from the Middle East”.

Storyline and Final Thoughts

As for the falling out, the movie shows this as being worsened by a revealing book that the trainer is allegedly authored (a plot point evidently modified from prior material), and there is an intriguingly conceived final conversation – although the emotional tribute that the boxer is reportedly given to Ingle after his passing is merely mentioned in the end titles, and not dramatised on film. Some engaging content here, but the punches don’t land.

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