Pierce Brosnan’s charming new crowdpleaser of a movie is available to watch now

Pierce Brosnan gives one of his best performances yet in a film that is full of heart.

Written and directed by Rowan Athale (Gangs of London, The Vault), the film is based on the real-life relationship between world champion boxer Prince Naseem Hamed (played as an adult by the absolutely ripped rising star Amir El-Masry, Industry) and his Irish trainer, Brendan Ingle (Brosnan).

Dubbed "perhaps the most famous fighter-trainer story in British boxing history", the movie starts with Hamed as a cocky young boy (where he is played by Ali Saleh and Ghaith Saleh at different ages, both excellent) in Sheffield in the '80s.

There, he joins Ingle's local boxing club so that he can learn how to defend himself from bullies.

Recognising the child's glowing confidence and naturally strong footwork, the trainer teaches him the other fundamentals of the sport.

In the process, the pair form a close bond, which is partly down to them both being made to feel like outsiders in the UK: Ingle being Dublin-born and Hamed being the son of Yemeni parents.

Attracting the attention of legendary promoter Frank Warren (Brosnan's former Bond co-star Toby Stephens, having a blast), Hamed rises to the boxing big leagues.

In the process, however, he and Ingle start to drift apart.

Giant begins as a standard but very watchable sports movie. It's worth noting that the film is produced by Sylvester Stallone, and within the DNA of Athale's picture is a touch of the original Rocky.

Set on the mean streets of Sheffield, Hamed has many doubters on his path to boxing stardom, who it's great to watch being proved wrong.

Yet, Giant ultimately sets itself apart from other movies in its genre by being just as much about the trainer as the athlete.

This approach seems to have sparked conflicting feelings in the real life of Prince Naseem, who says he was moved by the film but also claims 80-90% of it is "just made up".

Yet, after decades of films about boxers - including the recent, inferior Sydney Sweeney-starring Christy - it is fascinating to watch one with a greater focus on the coach behind the superstar, particularly when they are played by Brosnan at his most charismatic.

The former 007 imbues Ingle with a gentle yet street-wise charm. Though issues of money and acknowledgement do wind up coming between Ingle and Hamed, Brosnan's trainer seems more in the game for the sheer joy of helping the young boxers that come into his gym reach their full potential.

There are several very entertaining scenes in Giant of Ingle giving young Hamed insightful advice, which he then uses to demolish his opponents in the ring, or of Ingle and the older Hamed taking part in attention-grabbing stunts to drum up publicity for themselves.

We won't spoil how Giant ends, in case anyone reading may not know the true story.

All we'll say is that it shares some commonalities with another 2026 sports movie, the Irish hit Saipan, in that both centre around conflicts between a coach and an athlete.

Of the two, we'd actually argue that Giant is the strongest, as it makes better use of the medium of film to encapsulate the different perspectives of its two warring factions, as well as to provide emotional catharsis.

At times, the movie is predictable and relies on exposition. Occasionally, it feels like the scope of the film exceeds its modest budget, particularly when it comes to wide shots of spectators at Prince Naseem's boxing bouts.

Yet, it's easy to overlook these issues because Giant is funny, heartfelt and tremendously acted. In our opinion, it's a knock-out.

Giant is in cinemas now.