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The movie features a talented ensemble, depicting the real-life tale of Irish boxing trainer Brendan Ingle, who mentored a cheeky Sheffield teenager from Middle Eastern immigrant parents. Dubbed “Prince” Naseem Hamed, the youngster was taught to stand up to racist bullies and transformed into a celebrity world champion in the 1990s. Ingle nurtured his flamboyant arrogance and lethal fists, but after becoming rich, Hamed turned against his coach, cutting him out and making him a mix of Falstaff and Danny Rose.

Performers and Roles

Brosnan plays Ingle; Amir El-Masry embodies the part of the prince, and Toby Stephens appears as the bullish London promoter Frank Warren, who recognized the potential that Ingle had discovered.

Film’s Shortcomings

However, the movie frankly misses the Prince’s fancy footwork: the fight scenes run smoothly, but the crucial story between them is consistently flat and monotonous. There is no subtlety or contrast in the depiction of the protagonist himself, and the actor, an otherwise excellent talent, isn’t given the opportunity to display any depth or much of what might make his role truly engaging – even though he’s obviously been working out and appears convincing in the boxing arena.

Problems with Script and Sound

The story is repeatedly burdened by functional, explanatory dialogue that inform you precisely what is going on and what we are supposed to be thinking (“Your journey began your boxing journey at age seven …”). It is the sort of script that streaming-TV executives call “second-screen”, making sure you understand what’s going on while you’re watching the film but also checking your phone. Additionally, the score is overbearing, sometimes nearly overwhelming, particularly in the scene where Hamed gets overexcited calling on the promoter in his palatial home.

Acting and Pivotal Scenes

Although El-Masry and Brosnan do their very best, their relationship doesn’t quite ignites, and the big set-piece fight scenes are often anticlimactically cut short. The most important scene is certainly when, provoked beyond endurance in the training facility one day by the boxer 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 risky confrontation going to unfold? What will be the outcome? Certainly the champion is going to defeat him? Alternatively will he emotionally hold back? The resolution remains ambiguous.

Bright Spots and Comedy

This isn’t to imply that there aren’t some nice jabs. Brosnan elicits humor when Ingle informs a reporter what he’s teaching the kids from his neighborhood: to reject prejudice and when you encounter a paedophile, “Punch him in the bollocks”. It’s funny too when Hamed squirms at the ridiculous stunts the coach makes him do in the beginning: posing as the “beast from the East”.

Plot and Conclusion

As for the rift, the film shows this as being exacerbated by a tell-all book that the trainer is allegedly authored (a story element evidently adapted from another source), and there is an intriguingly conceived last discussion – however the emotional tribute that the boxer is reportedly paid to Ingle after his death is only mentioned in the closing credits, and not shown on screen. There is interesting material in this film, but the punches don’t land.

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