Giant Review: Naseem Hamed Movie Starring Brosnan Misses the Punch

This film features a talented cast, depicting the true tale of coach Brendan Ingle, who guided a cheeky Yorkshire youth from Yemeni migrant parents. Dubbed Naseem Hamed, the fighter was coached to confront racist bullies and molded into a media-friendly world champion in the late 90s. The trainer nurtured his showboating arrogance and powerful punches, but after achieving wealth, the boxer turned against his coach, excluding him and turning him into a blend of Falstaff and Broadway Danny Rose.

Cast and Characters

Pierce Brosnan plays Ingle; Amir El-Masry embodies the role of Hamed, and Toby Stephens is the assertive promoter Warren, who recognized the goldmine that the coach had discovered.

Where the Movie Falls Short

Yet, the movie honestly misses the fighter’s agility: the fight scenes flow well, but the crucial drama in between is consistently dull and one-note. It lacks subtlety or contrast in the portrayal of the protagonist himself, and El-Masry, an otherwise outstanding performer, isn’t given the chance to show any subtlety or much of what might make his role really interesting – although he’s obviously been training and looks very plausible in the boxing arena.

Dialogue and Music Issues

The drama is often lumbered with functional, explanatory dialogue that inform you precisely what is going on and what we are supposed to be thinking (“Your journey began your boxing journey at seven years old …”). This is the kind of dialogue that streaming-TV executives call “double-screen”, making sure you understand what’s going on while you’re viewing the film but also checking your phone. And, the background music is overpowering, sometimes nearly overwhelming, particularly in the scene where the boxer gets too excited visiting Warren in his luxurious residence.

Acting and Pivotal Scenes

While the leads do their very best, their dynamic never really comes to life, and the major fight scenes are often disappointingly truncated. The most important scene is surely when, goaded beyond endurance in the gym one day by Hamed as a misguided “old man”, Ingle in fact offers to step into the ring and fight him. All present in the gym is shocked and uneasy. In what way is this insanely risky standoff going to play out? How precisely the ending? Surely the champion is going to kill him? Or will he sentimentally hold back? The resolution remains ambiguous.

Bright Spots and Comedy

That’s not to say that there are no some nice jabs. The actor gets laughs when Ingle tells a reporter what he’s teaching the kids from his neighborhood: to reject prejudice and when you meet a offender, “Hit them in the bollocks”. It’s funny too when Hamed fidgets at the ridiculous stunts Ingle makes him do in the beginning: posing as the “monster from the Middle East”.

Storyline and Final Thoughts

Regarding the rift, the movie depicts this as being worsened by a revealing book that Ingle is allegedly written (a plot point clearly adapted from another source), and there is an interestingly conceived final conversation – although the heartfelt homage that the boxer is supposed to have given to Ingle after his passing is merely mentioned in the closing credits, and not shown on film. There is interesting material in this film, but the blows don’t land.

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