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The movie features a talented ensemble, depicting the real-life tale of coach Ingle, who mentored a cheeky Sheffield youth from Yemeni migrant family. Known as “Prince” Naseem Hamed, the youngster was coached to confront prejudice and molded into a celebrity titleholder in the late 90s. Ingle cultivated his showboating confidence and lethal fists, but after becoming rich, the boxer turned against his mentor, cutting him out and making him a blend of John Falstaff and Broadway Danny Rose.

Cast and Characters

Pierce Brosnan portrays the trainer; Amir El-Masry embodies the part of Hamed, and Toby Stephens is the assertive promoter Frank Warren, who recognized the goldmine that Ingle had discovered.

Where the Movie Falls Short

However, the movie frankly misses the Prince’s fancy footwork: the fight scenes flow well, but the all-important story between them is consistently dull and monotonous. There is no nuance or contrast in the depiction of the protagonist himself, and the actor, an otherwise outstanding performer, isn’t given the opportunity to display any depth or much of what might make his character truly engaging – even though he’s clearly been training and appears convincing in the ring.

Problems with Script and Sound

The drama is repeatedly lumbered with functional, expositional lines that inform you precisely what is happening and what we are supposed to be thinking (“Your journey began your boxing journey at seven years old …”). This is the kind of dialogue that streaming-TV producers call “second-screen”, ensuring you know what’s unfolding while you’re watching the film but also checking your phone. Additionally, the score is overbearing, at times nearly deafening, especially in the scene where the boxer gets overexcited calling on the promoter in his luxurious home.

Performances and Key Moments

While El-Masry and Brosnan do their considerable best, their dynamic doesn’t quite comes to life, and the major boxing moments are frequently disappointingly cut short. The most important scene is surely when, goaded beyond endurance in the training facility one day by the boxer as a misguided “elder”, Ingle in fact offers to get in the ring and box him. Everyone in the room is shocked and uneasy. How exactly is this extremely unwise standoff going to play out? What will be the outcome? Certainly the champion is going to defeat him? Alternatively will he sentimentally pull his punches? It’s not clear.

Highlights and Humor

This isn’t to imply that there are no some good moments. Brosnan elicits humor when Ingle informs a reporter what he’s teaching the kids from his neighborhood: to reject prejudice and when you meet a offender, “Hit them in the bollocks”. It’s funny too when Hamed squirms at the silly antics Ingle makes him do in the beginning: 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 Ingle is allegedly authored (a plot point evidently modified from another source), and there is an intriguingly conceived last discussion – although the heartfelt homage that the boxer is supposed to have given to Ingle after his passing is merely mentioned in the closing credits, and not shown on screen. There is engaging content here, but the punches fail to connect.

Giant screened at the festival and is in British and Irish cinemas from January 9.