The Giant Review: Prince Naseem Movie Featuring Pierce Brosnan Misses the Impact

This film features a impressive ensemble, telling the true story of coach Ingle, who mentored a brash Sheffield youth from Middle Eastern migrant parents. Known as Naseem Hamed, the fighter was coached to stand up to racist bullies and molded into a celebrity titleholder in the late 90s. The trainer cultivated his flamboyant confidence and powerful punches, but after achieving wealth, the boxer betrayed his mentor, excluding him and turning him into a mix of John Falstaff and Broadway Danny Rose.

Cast and Characters

Pierce Brosnan plays the trainer; El-Masry takes on the part of Hamed, and Toby Stephens appears as the assertive London promoter Warren, who saw the potential that Ingle had uncovered.

Film’s Shortcomings

Yet, the film frankly misses the Prince’s agility: the fight scenes run smoothly, but the all-important drama in between is consistently flat and one-note. There is no nuance or contrast in the depiction of the protagonist himself, and El-Masry, an otherwise outstanding performer, isn’t given the chance to display any depth or much of what might make his role truly engaging – even though he’s clearly been training and looks very plausible in the ring.

Dialogue and Music Issues

The story is repeatedly burdened by functional, expositional lines that tell you exactly what is going on and what we are supposed to be thinking (“You started your boxing journey at age seven …”). It is the sort of script that streaming-TV executives call “double-screen”, making sure you understand what’s going on while you’re watching the movie but also checking your phone. Additionally, the background music is overbearing, sometimes almost overwhelming, especially in the moment where Hamed gets overexcited visiting Warren in his palatial home.

Performances and Key Moments

While the leads do their considerable utmost, their relationship doesn’t quite comes to life, and the big set-piece boxing moments are frequently anticlimactically cut short. A key moment is certainly when, goaded past his limit in the gym one day by Hamed as a misguided “old man”, Ingle actually proposes to get in the ring and fight him. All present in the gym is stunned and uneasy. In what way is this extremely unwise confrontation going to unfold? How precisely the outcome? Certainly the Prince is going to kill him? Or will he sentimentally pull his punches? The resolution remains ambiguous.

Bright Spots and Comedy

That’s not to say that there are no some nice jabs. Brosnan gets laughs when his character tells a journalist what he’s instructing the kids from his neighborhood: to oppose prejudice and when you encounter a offender, “Hit them in the bollocks”. It’s funny too when Hamed squirms at the ridiculous antics Ingle makes him do in the early days: posing as the “monster from the East”.

Storyline and Final Thoughts

As for the falling out, the film depicts this as being worsened by a tell-all book that Ingle is supposed to have authored (a story element clearly modified from another source), and there is an intriguingly imagined last discussion – however the emotional tribute that the boxer is reportedly given to Ingle after his death is merely referenced in the end titles, and not shown on screen. Some engaging content in this film, but the punches fail to connect.

The film was shown at the festival and is available in UK and Irish cinemas from January 9.