Giant, directed by Rowan Athale, tells the rise of Naseem Hamed, a British-Yemeni boxer known as ‘Prince Naseem’ (Amir El-Masry) in the ring. Along with his trainer, Brendan Ingle (Pierce Brosnan), Naseem goes from amateur fights in pubs to Madison Square Garden.
Inspired by a real story, Hamed emerged in the 1990s, and Ingle was his trainer from the time he was a boy until they both went their separate ways in 1998. Hamed had recorded 36 wins to one loss, with titles in the European bantamweight, WBC International super-bantamweight, WBO featherweight, and IBF featherweight.
This Sylvester Stallone-produced Giant, with positioning as ‘The UK answer to Rocky’ on the poster, sees the formulaic similarities that, unfortunately, cause Giant to be an unspectacular answer.
The film explores Prince Naseem and Ingle’s early years, culminating in their parting of ways in 1998. It uses Prince Naseem and Ingle to explore the relationship between the fighter and trainer, which is deeply emblematic of Rocky: the fighter is only as good as the trainer, and the trainer is only as good as the fighter. With Hamed having that natural talent, it renews a second shot for him. Ingle becomes a father figure to Hamed, recognizing true potential.
Eventually, the relationship starts to sour. Ingle wants more of the limelight, and Naseem’s arrogance, his superpower that made him a bulletproof force of ferocity, lacks humility. The film understands the duo’s complexity: both are exactly what the other needed, but you can’t go twelve rounds with your own ego. You see both sides of the coin and feel for both characters, knowing that these tensions are about more than just boxing. “A father doesn’t do that to his son,” Naseem says to Ingle.
This tension comes full circle towards the end, as they meet at a fight years later, both now former fighters. Now, they can see clearly, finally embracing their father-son relationship.
But the real story wasn’t so tidy. The moment, a neat trick from the film, was imagined; Ingle passed away in 2018 before they ever got a chance to reconcile. It’s a deeply touching scene, as it shows how, even after everything similar to going twelve rounds, Hamed and Ingle still cared for each other. Their bond stood the test of time.
While this emotional heart of the film is effective, Giant falls flat in its formulaic tendencies. It isn’t the first boxing film to follow the trends set by Rocky, but when it has a tagline comparing itself to such greatness, you expect something spectacular. Here, everything feels surface-level and done before.
Throughout his life, Hamed faced mounds of discrimination. Growing up in Sheffield in the 90s, Hamed saw British National Party thugs vandalize his mother’s shop. During his fights, crowds make hateful remarks. Naseem keeps his cool, using it as fuel in the ring. It’s frustrating that the film ultimately stays on the surface of these complexities; it’s a missed opportunity, falling into predictable, formulaic lanes.
Giant also misses an opportunity to explore complex generations of discrimination with Ingle, in particular. Ingle was Irish, so he would have had to face some level of discrimination as well. It would have been interesting to see Hamed and Ingle discuss their pasts, revealing to each other how their trauma has shaped them differently.
The boxing itself is well choreographed, but it’s not spectacular. The knockouts, especially, are well done, the sound design emphasizing the moment. In a recreation of a fight with Steven Robinson in Cardiff, the crowd’s noise design is incredible, really highlighting how much that Cardiff crowd hated Hamed that night. It’s as if a riot is going to happen.
Still, the film fails to dissect the man in the ring. Hamed, the first British Muslim boxer to win a major world championship, and the pressure he must have faced both inside and outside the ring, is unfortunately underexplored. El-Masry, though, is truly impressive as Hamed. He possesses that quick-witted cockiness and a bulletproof attitude that made boxing fans tune in to see Prince Naseem. In the ring, he dances around his opponents with an arrogance and swagger that made Hamed a character that was either a hero or a villain.
On the flipside, Brosnan is a standout as Ingle. I shouldn’t be surprised by this, seeing as Brosnan is a seasoned pro, but here, I wanted to run through a brick wall for him. You can see why Naseem viewed him as a father and fought his heart out for him. After they’ve split up, Ingle watches Naseem fight — and later lose — against Maro Antonia Barera on TV. Ingle can clearly see Naseem is losing, so he goes to sit outside. It’s a straightforward moment, but Brosnan captures the sense that, even after everything, Naseem is still his fighter.
Giant may not live up to its spectacular tagline, but what is spectacular is the drama between Hamed and Ingle, a duo that transcended fighter and trainer. They were a father-and-son team who, no matter what, always had each other’s backs.
Review Courtesy of Matthew Allan
Feature Image Credit to Vertical via IMDb