Giant Review: Naseem Hamed Movie Starring Pierce Brosnan Lacks the Punch

The movie boasts a talented cast, telling the true story of Irish boxing trainer Ingle, who mentored a cheeky Sheffield youth from Middle Eastern immigrant parents. Known as Naseem Hamed, the fighter was taught to stand up to racist bullies and transformed into a celebrity world champion in the late 90s. The trainer nurtured his flamboyant confidence and powerful punches, but after achieving wealth, Hamed turned against his mentor, excluding him and making him a blend of Falstaff and Danny Rose.

Cast and Characters

Brosnan plays Ingle; Amir El-Masry embodies the part of Hamed, and Stephens is the assertive promoter Warren, who saw the potential that the coach had discovered.

Where the Movie Falls Short

Yet, the movie frankly misses the fighter’s fancy footwork: the boxing sequences run smoothly, but the all-important drama between them is repeatedly flat and one-note. It lacks subtlety 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 – although he’s obviously been working out and appears convincing in the boxing arena.

Problems with Script and Sound

The story is repeatedly lumbered with utilitarian, expositional dialogue that tell you precisely what is happening and what we are meant to feel (“You started your boxing journey at seven years old …”). This is the sort of dialogue that streaming-TV producers call “double-screen”, ensuring you know what’s going on while you’re viewing the movie but also glancing at your phone. And, the background music is overbearing, at times nearly overwhelming, particularly in the scene where the boxer gets overexcited calling on Warren in his luxurious residence.

Performances and Key Moments

While the leads do their considerable utmost, their dynamic never really comes to life, and the major boxing moments are often anticlimactically cut short. A key moment is certainly when, goaded beyond endurance in the gym one day by the boxer as a misguided “old man”, the trainer in fact proposes to step into the ring and fight him. Everyone in the room is stunned and uncomfortable. In what way is this extremely risky standoff going to play out? How precisely the ending? Surely the champion is going to defeat him? Alternatively will he sentimentally pull his punches? It’s not clear.

Bright Spots and Comedy

This isn’t to imply that there aren’t some good moments. The actor elicits humor when his character informs a journalist what he’s instructing the youths from his neighborhood: to reject prejudice and when you meet a paedophile, “Punch him in the bollocks”. Amusing too when the boxer squirms at the silly antics the coach makes him do in the early days: posing as the “monster from the East”.

Plot and Conclusion

As for the falling out, the movie depicts this as being worsened by a revealing publication that the trainer is supposed to have authored (a plot point evidently modified from prior material), and there is an interestingly imagined last discussion – however the heartfelt homage that Hamed is reportedly given to Ingle after his death is only mentioned in the end titles, and not shown on film. There is engaging content in this film, but the punches fail to connect.

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