The Giant Film Analysis: Prince Naseem Biopic Featuring Pierce Brosnan Misses the Punch

This film features a talented ensemble, depicting the real-life tale of coach Ingle, who mentored a brash Yorkshire teenager from Middle Eastern migrant family. Dubbed Naseem Hamed, the youngster was taught to stand up to prejudice and transformed into a media-friendly titleholder in the late 90s. The trainer nurtured his flamboyant confidence and powerful punches, but after achieving wealth, Hamed betrayed his mentor, excluding him and making him a mix of John Falstaff and Danny Rose.

Cast and Characters

Pierce Brosnan portrays the trainer; El-Masry takes on the part of the prince, and Stephens appears as the assertive London promoter Frank Warren, who recognized the goldmine that Ingle had uncovered.

Film’s Shortcomings

However, the film frankly misses the Prince’s agility: the boxing sequences run smoothly, but the all-important story in between is repeatedly dull and monotonous. There is no subtlety or contrast in the portrayal of Hamed himself, and El-Masry, an otherwise outstanding performer, isn’t given the chance to show any depth 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 drama is often lumbered with utilitarian, explanatory dialogue that tell you precisely what is happening and what we are meant to feel (“Your journey began your boxing journey at seven years old …”). This is the kind of dialogue that digital producers call “double-screen”, making sure you know what’s going on while you’re viewing the film but also glancing at your phone. Additionally, the background music is overpowering, sometimes almost deafening, especially in the moment where the boxer gets too excited calling on the promoter in his luxurious home.

Performances and Key Moments

While El-Masry and Brosnan do their considerable utmost, their dynamic never really ignites, and the major boxing moments are often anticlimactically cut short. The most important scene is surely when, goaded beyond endurance in the training facility one day by the boxer as a delusional “old man”, the trainer actually proposes to get in the ring and fight him. All present in the gym is stunned and uneasy. How exactly is this insanely risky confrontation going to unfold? What will be the outcome? 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 good moments. Brosnan gets laughs when his character informs a reporter what he’s instructing the youths from his neighborhood: to reject bias and when you encounter a paedophile, “Hit them in the groin”. Amusing too when the boxer squirms at the ridiculous antics the coach makes him do in the early days: posing as the “beast from the Middle East”.

Plot and Conclusion

Regarding the rift, the movie depicts this as being exacerbated by a tell-all publication that Ingle is supposed to have written (a plot point clearly modified from prior material), and there is an intriguingly imagined last discussion – however the heartfelt homage that Hamed is reportedly paid to his mentor after his passing is only mentioned in the end titles, and not dramatised on film. There is engaging content here, but the punches don’t land.

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