Giant

2025

Action / Biography / Drama / Sport

13
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 61% · 18 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 61%
IMDb Rating 6.7/10 10 2142 2.1K

period drama 1980s boxing 1990s sports drama biographical drama

Plot summary

Follows Prince Naseem Hamed from his humble beginnings on the tough working-class streets of Sheffield and his discovery by Ingle, himself a steel industry worker turned boxing trainer. Their unlikely partnership, Naz’s unorthodox style, cocky persona, and sheer dominance in the ring propelled them to the top of boxing’s elite and unprecedented levels of global superstardom, all in the face of the rampant Islamophobia and racism of ’80s and 90’s Britain.

Director

Rowan Athale Photo
Rowan Athale

Top cast

Pierce Brosnan Photo
Pierce Brosnan as Brendan Ingle
Asan N'Jie Photo
Asan N'Jie as Tom
Arian Nik Photo
Arian Nik as Riath Hamed
John Schwab Photo
John Schwab as U.S. Commentator
720p.BluRay 720p.WEB 1080p.BluRay 1080p.WEB 1080p.WEB
1013.59 MB
1280*536
English 2.0
PG-13
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24 fps
1 hr 50 min
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1012.74 MB
1280*534
English 2.0
PG-13
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24 fps
1 hr 50 min
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2.03 GB
1920*804
English 5.1
PG-13
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24 fps
1 hr 50 min
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2.03 GB
1920*800
English 5.1
PG-13
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24 fps
1 hr 50 min
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1.84 GB
1920*800
English 5.1
PG-13
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24 fps
1 hr 50 min
Seeds 83

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by CinemaSerf 6 / 10

Three lads had a go at playing Naseem

Three lads had a go at playing Naseem Hamed in this drama, and for me it was the twelve year old version (Ali Saleh) who just pipped his seven year old version (Ghaith Saleh) to the title of best of the three. That meant that the adult version, Amir El-Masry didn’t really shine for me as this hugely charismatic man. And charismatic he certainly is - I had lunch with him and Frank Warren in Knightsbridge once and it was great fun! Anyway, I name-drop. The Hamed family were growing up in a Sheffield that wasn’t the easiest place for people of colour and their shopkeeping mother was aware that Brendan Ingle (Pierce Brosnan) ran a boxing gym nearby. She convinces him to let them learn a little bit of self defence, and in return for some shockingly tone-deaf singing he agrees. The youngest, Naseem, isn’t daft enough to sing though - he just demonstrates the kind of footwork hitherto reserved for Michael Jackson and his trainer thinks he spots something special. Weighing in at just over seven stones, he gets his first fight and this follows his subsequent career through to his meeting with legendary promoter Warren (Toby Stephens) and then onto the “Garden” before the wheels began to come of the Ingle/Hamed wagon. Now the fact that both of Ingle’s sons and Naz himself have been engaged in the publicity for this film suggests that there is a bit of truth to this turn of events, but I just couldn’t take to El-Masry’s characterisation. The kids oozed a confidence and brass-neck that I found really quite engagingly plausible and cheeky. By the time we get to adulthood, too much of the story has been skipped and though there is some well-shot fight footage I just felt he didn’t exude the supreme arrogance of a man who knew how to goad, to provoke and to entertain. Brosnan does a little better at portraying a man who saw boxing as an apprenticeship for life outside and not just inside the ring, and he gels well with the younger Naseem’s, but again the story of their parting is too hastily arrived at and so I never felt that there was much substance to the almost paternal relationship between himself and El-Masry’ persona. It also misses out on explaining to any in the audience who don’t know who he is, just how much of an household name Hamed became. Of how much of a role model he became for working class kids up and down the UK and just how his flamboyance broke a mould in British boxing that took it into the realms of multi-million dollar light-entertainment. It is worth a watch, but I found it all just a little too superficial.
Reviewed by alibabs123 7 / 10

Billy Elliot meets Rocky V

Giant charts Prince Naseem Hamed's rise with swagger and bruising honesty. The film moves briskly through triumphs and tumbles, sometimes skimming depth (and accuracy if we're being honest) but its energy mirrors Hamed's ring persona. Make no mistake about it however, this is a Pierce Brosnan film. His portrayal of Brendan Ingle (Naseem's trainer) is excellent. He is warm, stubborn, and quietly wounded. A mentor who understands that discipline and belief can be acts of love.The boxing sequences are punchy rather than balletic, more like highlight reels as opposed to blow by blow accounts. But I feel it's not so much the actual boxing this film leans on, it's the characters and their relationships. Still, Giant lands its emotional blows, with plenty of heart as it lifts the lid on a complicated partnership that shouldn't be forgotten. Stallone has his fingerprints on this in the form of exec-producer, perhaps to make amends for a certain, sub-par installment from a popular boxing franchise...? The 5th one perhaps...?
Reviewed by garyderoux 8 / 10

Emotionally Human

I do believe that Brendan Ingle would have been over the moon that 007's Pierce Brosnan plays him in 'Giant'. To condence two huge characters, who changed the face of British boxing, into a 2 hour film seems impossible (and it probably is)! This is not what this film is about... it's an amalgamation of snapshots from two huge and multifaceted lives combined into a couple hours of thoughts and emotions, primarily from Brendan Ingle's perspective. Pierce Brosnan and Emir El-Masry grow into believable depictions of their characters as the film progresses. It's an honest, warm, and emotional journey, perhaps not rounded out enough, but as an entertaining watch, more than carries it's weight! Pierce Brosnan's portrayal of Brendan Ingle is superb and well worth the watch for that alone. A human film made with good research, care, dignity, and emotion. A story that needs to be seen.
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