Despite a strong cast, the new film 'Giant' about boxer Prince Naseem Hamed and his mentor Brendan Ingle fails to deliver a knockout. Pierce Brosnan plays Ingle, while Amir El-Masry portrays Hamed, but the drama between them lacks depth and nuance.
The film follows Hamed's journey from Sheffield gyms to world champion in the late 1990s, guided by Ingle. However, after achieving wealth, Hamed turns against his mentor. The boxing sequences are smooth, but the crucial dramatic moments fall flat, hampered by functional dialogue and overbearing background music.
Key scenes, such as Ingle challenging Hamed to a boxing match, are anticlimactic and unclear. Brosnan provides some laughs, notably when Ingle advises punching a paedophile in the bollocks, and Hamed squirms at early publicity stunts. Yet the relationship between the two leads never fully comes to life.
The film touches on the falling out, worsened by a tell-all book, and includes an imagined final conversation. However, Hamed's emotional tribute to Ingle after his death is only mentioned in the closing credits, not dramatised. 'Giant' has interesting material but ultimately misses the mark.
