In 1980s Sheffield, a young mother brings her sons to a local gym run by a retired boxer. She wants him to help her boys to fight back against the racist bullies they encounter every day at school. The retired boxer is Brendan Ingle (Pierce Brosnan) and one of the sons is Naseem Hamed (Amir El-Masry). Giant is the story of how these two came together to make boxing history.
From the start, Brendan sees that Naseem has an attitude that makes him stand out from all the other fighters in his gym. He has a cocky swagger that Brendan nurtures, teaching him to use it to enrage his opponents. This means they make mistakes, and mistakes mean they're vulnerable. Ultimately, as Naseem goes from local success to international glory, he starts to resent his trainer. He believes the older man is taking too much credit for his talent, not to mention too much commission on his earnings. The self-confidence and arrogance that Brendan had so carefully nurtured is now turned against him.
A number of commentators on the recent release of Saipan have said that you don’t need to know anything about football to enjoy the film. The same could be said of Giant. Certainly, I know very little about boxing, and yet was riveted by human drama. I’ve enjoyed Raging Bull, Million Dollar Baby and most of the Rocky franchise without being in any way drawn to the sport itself. Prior to watching, I vaguely knew of ‘Prince’ Naseem, his success and his flamboyance without having really paid any attention to any of it. Coming out of the screening, I was driven to find out more. More about him and his Dublin-born trainer.
The narrative does, admittedly, come down quite strongly on one side of the dispute, but both Brendan and Naseem are portrayed sympathetically. The heart of this film is the bond between them and the heartbreak of it coming apart. There is a sense of neither wanting this to happen, even as both blunder on stubbornly to ensure it does.
Writer and director Rowan Athale knows how to keep an audience engaged, and the rise and rise of the boxing prodigy is very well paced, with some light comic touches along the way. When a very young Naseem has his first fight, his coach in the ring is Brendan’s equally very young son. His advice at the end of each round is “Do you remember what you did last time?” “Yes.” “Okay, do it again.”
The two central performances here are exceptional. Amir El-Masry really humanises Prince Naseem. Here is a man who is utterly self-assured, showing off at every opportunity, a constant exhibitionist. But El-Masry portrays it all as completely justified and understandable. Naseem is declaring himself as the greatest because he is the greatest. He is also a performer, a showman, and his flamboyance - his dancing around the ring, his mugging at his opponents - is all part of the show. For all his attitude, El-Masry shows us an engaging character that we can all understand. When he is swinging his arm round and round, ready for the killer blow, we are cheering him on.
In what could have been a less showy role, Pierce Brosnan brings his character up to the same level. This is a moving portrayal of a basically decent guy. Brendan has all the outward bravura expected of a man of his social background, but you can really see the deep hurt inside as his relationship with Naseem struggles.
This is a thoroughly engrossing story, very well told, fuelled by the great chemistry between Brosnan and El-Masry. Giant plots the journey of two like-minded souls with a real connection; as their relationship fractures, the gut punches carry real weight.
Giant is in cinemas from 9th January 2026.
