đ Share this article The Giant Film Analysis: Naseem Hamed Biopic Starring Pierce Brosnan Misses the Impact The movie features a talented cast, depicting the real-life tale of coach Brendan Ingle, who mentored a cheeky Yorkshire teenager from Yemeni immigrant parents. Known as Naseem Hamed, the fighter was coached to confront prejudice and molded into a celebrity titleholder in the 1990s. The trainer nurtured his showboating confidence and powerful punches, but after becoming rich, the boxer turned against his coach, excluding him and making him a blend of John Falstaff and Danny Rose. Performers and Roles Pierce Brosnan portrays Ingle; El-Masry embodies the role of the prince, and Toby Stephens is the bullish promoter Frank Warren, who recognized the goldmine that Ingle had discovered. Where the Movie Falls Short Yet, the film frankly lacks the Princeâs agility: the boxing sequences flow well, but the crucial drama between them is consistently dull and one-note. It lacks subtlety or light and shade in the portrayal of Hamed himself, and El-Masry, an otherwise outstanding performer, isnât given the opportunity to display any subtlety or much of what might make his role truly engaging â even though heâs clearly been training and looks very plausible in the ring. Dialogue and Music Issues The drama is repeatedly burdened by utilitarian, expositional dialogue that tell you exactly what is happening and what we are supposed to be thinking (âYou started your boxing journey at age seven âŠâ). This is the sort of dialogue that streaming-TV producers call âdouble-screenâ, ensuring you understand whatâs unfolding while youâre watching the film but also checking your phone. Additionally, the background music is overbearing, at times almost overwhelming, especially in the scene where Hamed gets overexcited calling on Warren in his palatial home. Performances and Key Moments Although the leads do their very utmost, their relationship doesnât quite comes to life, and the big set-piece fight scenes are often disappointingly cut short. A key scene is surely when, goaded beyond endurance in the training facility one day by Hamed as a delusional âold manâ, Ingle actually offers to step into the ring and fight him. All present in the gym is stunned and uneasy. In what way is this insanely unwise confrontation going to unfold? How precisely the ending? Surely the champion is going to defeat him? Alternatively will he sentimentally pull his punches? Itâs not clear. Highlights and Humor This isnât to imply that there are no some nice jabs. The actor 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. Itâs funny too when the boxer fidgets at the silly antics the coach makes him do in the beginning: acting like the âmonster from the Middle Eastâ. Storyline and Final Thoughts As for the rift, the film shows this as being worsened by a tell-all publication that Ingle is allegedly written (a story element evidently adapted from prior material), and there is an interestingly imagined final conversation â however the emotional tribute that Hamed is reportedly paid to Ingle after his passing is merely mentioned in the closing credits, and not shown on screen. There is engaging content here, but the blows fail to connect. The film was shown at the London film festival and is in UK and Irish cinemas from January 9.