Goal! Movie Review:

Has there ever been a dreamy sports film about soccer? I can’t seem to remember one unless you count “Bend It like Beckham” but that was about girls in an unprofessional league.

Most famous for directing the 1995 clunker “Judge Dredd” and now being a part of the stable of directors for CSI, director Danny Cannon headlines a new sports movie about the world’s biggest sport, soccer.

The film follows Santiago Munez (newcomer Kuno Becker) as he starts from the barrio of Los Angeles as an illegal immigrant from Mexico. Munez struggles against is overly proud father (Tony Plana) and near poverty.

One day while playing a pickup game, Munez is noticed by Glen Foy (Stephan Dillane) who sees a magic in the young man. Munez isn’t sure of his talent but begins to believe Foy’s vision.

Foy phones in a favor with the prestigious soccer club Newcastle United in England and promises Munez that if he can get to England he will get a shot at making the team.

Munez struggles to make his dream come true much to the disappointment of his father. Leaving his life behind, Munez boards a plane and heads to England.

The trials and tribulations that Munez faces as he tries to achieve his dream will test every fiber of his being.

“Goal!” is basically like every other sports film before it as a young hero does all he can to make it in the big league. What is different about the film is that it’s about soccer and it does a great job of introducing the game to North American audiences and also the film is tailor-made for soccer fans.

I really liked the performance of newcomer Kuno Becker who shines in the lead role as the struggling upstart. There are a lot of sequences where the film could be compared to “Rocky” and those memories only make the film all the more memorable.

The plagues of the film come with how many sports film clichés can you pile into a film. It isn’t the fault of the director or the writer it’s just with the genre. Sports films are like romantic comedies we have seen the same thing a million times but that doesn’t mean we don’t enjoy the journey.

This film has been a phenomenon overseas and two sequels have been greenlit to further explore Munez’s role at Newcastle United. So in that case I guess it’s even more like “Rocky” than I realized.

(3 out of 5) So Says the Soothsayer. (blog.soothsayer.ca)

Dean Kish

Goal opens in North America, May 12

 

If you like rags-to-riches fairy tales, you'll love this romanticised ode to unrealistic dreams. Fortunately, the direction and performances are good enough to get us through the progressively hackneyed storyline.

Santiago Muñez (Becker) is a young Mexican who illegally crossed into America as a child. He lives with his angry single dad (Plana) in Los Angeles, working two jobs and playing football (that's soccer to the Yanks) every chance he gets. One day he's spotted by a has-been talent scout (Dillane), who arranges a trial with the Newcastle United manager (Iures). Now in cold, rainy Northeast England, Santiago has a month to prove himself worthy of playing alongside such greats as Alan Shearer and cocky new star Harris (Nivola).

Funded in part by Fifa, this is clearly a propaganda film designed to promote the sport in the States. Everything is softened for American audiences, from reckless star excesses to Geordie accents. (And it looks like the Newcastle Tourism Board had a hand in it as well.) That said, the film does capture the cultures of European football obsession and non-London Britain; director Cannon maintains a wonderfully raucous tone, which feels authentic even if it's sculpted to be as quirky and inoffensive as possible. And the football is wonderfully adrenaline-fuelled.

The story starts promisingly, centring on Santiago's singular love of the sport. Becker is a charming, ruggedly handsome presence, and even though his playing scenes are clearly doubled, we get a strong feel for the character both on and off the pitch. Supporting characters are also strong, surprising us with moments of authentic humanity even as the plot itself leaves all logic behind. Beckham even gets through his scene with his dignity intact.

Then the narrative cliches creep in (Pertwee's arrogant agent, Colon's kindly grandma, Friel's love-interest nurse, Lewis' encouraging coach), and the story begins to hinge on contrived coincidences. Finally, even the dialog becomes horribly corny as the film surges to an astonishingly silly conclusion that only manages to tug at the heartstrings because the cast have by then earned our sympathy. Just a bit more invention and creativity could have made this a true winner.



Rich Cline

Santiago Munez (Becker) was the best player in his team but Major League Soccer scouts never spotted Latino kids from the wrong side of Los Angeles. That all changed when ex-Newcastle United scout Glen Foy (Dillane) spotted him playing. Promising him a trail, all Santiago had to do was get enough money together to buy a ticket to England. Could this player who has never even played in the cold, muddy fields that great him in Newcastle make an impact in the Premier League.

When it comes to transferring the beautiful game to the silver screen, filmmakers have had as much difficulty as some people have understanding the offside rule but can ‘Goal!’ have what it takes to score at the box office?

With only ‘Escape to Victory’ ever capturing how the fans really feel about football, numerous films have tries to bring the most popular sport in the world to the big screen. ‘Goal!’ is different however. The first part of a projected trilogy, this charts the dream of almost every young boy in the world to become professional footballer. From his illegal crossing of border into the US from Mexico as a young boy to playing for his local team in Los Angeles, we see how Santiago is spotted and offered a trail at one of the biggest clubs in England.

With all the key story positions filled, the film is already moving up the football movie league but there are a few things that start pushing it down to mid-table mediocrity. The movie is filled with sentimental moments that seem to be included bring some depth to Santiago’s character that should make his rise to the first team all that more appealing but most of it is not needed. This is a movie where the football should be the midfield general commanding the film and not the sweeper that holds everything together. There are too many clichés like a player drinking and partying his career away, an envious older player who picks on the new guy and a chance for the Santiago to make a dramatic first start. When you find out that the film has had input from ‘Auf Wiedersehen, Pet’ writers Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, you can see where the comedy of the piece come from but this doesn’t make up overly sentimental storylines.

The major plus point of the movie is the football itself. Many films have tried to recreate a professional game on the screen but most of them have ended up with the red card. ‘Goal!’ sets its stall out early with some impressively shot skills from the lead actor. As the film progresses the on screen the football comes into its own as Santiago makes it into the first team. Then the film blends Santiago and the other main footballer character Gavin Harris in actual Newcastle United games from the 2004/5 season. This makes the football scenes the best to ever grace the big screen and will have fans on the edge of their seats.

The performances from the cast are also good. Kuno Becker makes a believable footballer and a lead character that you can support. Alessandro Nivola plays playboy player Gavin Harris and even though he is an American, he does a good job. Add to this good performances from Stephen Dillane as the man who discovers Santiago Glen Foy, Marcel Iures as Newcastle manager Erik Dornhelm and the beautiful and talented Anna Friel as Santiago’s love interest.

‘Goal!’ is the first film to really capture the beautiful game on the big screen. With cameo appearances from most of the Newcastle first team and some other major footballing names, this is a movie that fans can actually cheer about. It might quite be at the top of the table but it does enough to make it into the UEFA cup places.

Jamie Kelwick

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