Giant Review: Naseem Hamed Biopic Starring Brosnan Misses the Punch
The movie features a impressive cast, telling the real-life story of Irish boxing trainer Ingle, who guided a brash Yorkshire youth from Yemeni immigrant family. Known as âPrinceâ Naseem Hamed, the fighter was coached to stand up to racist bullies and molded into a media-friendly titleholder in the late 90s. The trainer cultivated his flamboyant arrogance and lethal fists, but after achieving wealth, Hamed turned against his mentor, cutting him out and making him a mix of Falstaff and Broadway Danny Rose.
Cast and Characters
Pierce Brosnan portrays the trainer; El-Masry embodies the role of Hamed, and Toby Stephens is the bullish London promoter Frank Warren, who saw the potential that Ingle had uncovered.
Where the Movie Falls Short
Yet, the film frankly lacks the Princeâs fancy footwork: the fight scenes run smoothly, but the crucial story in between is consistently dull and one-note. It lacks subtlety or light and shade in the portrayal of the protagonist himself, and El-Masry, an otherwise outstanding performer, isnât given the chance to show any subtlety or much of what might make his character truly engaging â although heâs clearly been working out and looks very plausible in the boxing arena.
Problems with Script and Sound
The story is repeatedly lumbered with utilitarian, expositional dialogue that tell you precisely what is going on and what we are meant to feel (âYour journey began your boxing journey at seven years old âŚâ). This is the kind of script that streaming-TV producers call âsecond-screenâ, ensuring you know whatâs going on while youâre viewing the movie but also checking your phone. And, the background music is overpowering, at times nearly overwhelming, especially in the moment where Hamed gets too excited visiting Warren in his palatial home.
Performances and Key Moments
While the leads do their considerable best, their dynamic never really ignites, and the big set-piece boxing moments are often disappointingly cut short. The most important moment is surely when, provoked beyond endurance in the gym one day by Hamed as a delusional âelderâ, Ingle actually offers to step into the ring and box him. All present in the gym is stunned and uncomfortable. How exactly is this insanely unwise standoff going to play out? What will be the outcome? Surely the Prince is going to kill him? Alternatively will he sentimentally hold back? Itâs not clear.
Bright Spots and Comedy
This isnât to imply that there are no some good moments. Brosnan elicits humor when Ingle informs a journalist what heâs instructing the youths from his neighborhood: to reject bias and when you meet a offender, âHit them in the bollocksâ. Amusing too when Hamed fidgets at the silly stunts the coach makes him do in the early days: acting like the âbeast from the Middle Eastâ.
Plot and Conclusion
Regarding the rift, the film depicts this as being exacerbated by a revealing publication that the trainer is allegedly authored (a story element evidently adapted from another source), and there is an intriguingly conceived last discussion â although the heartfelt homage that Hamed is supposed to have paid to his mentor after his death is only referenced in the end titles, and not dramatised on screen. There is interesting material here, but the punches fail to connect.
The film was shown at the festival and is available in UK and Irish cinemas from 9 January.
