Just noticed the review formatting has returned, thank god for that
Just noticed the review formatting has returned, thank god for that
Member since:29.08.2002
Reviews:627
Members who trust:281
Being a football fan the concept behind Goal seemed like one that should really appeal to me. I was however put off by Dream Team on Sky One and I was incredibly worried that Goal would just turn out to be an overly long episode of it. I did, however, feel it was unfair to judge Goal by Dream Team’s standard as for starters it had a much bigger budget and featured a number of real footballers. So having recently joined an online subscription service I took advantage of it to see a movie I wasn’t willing to actually buy.
The plot follows the story of a young kid from Mexico. At a young age Santiago’s (Kuno Becker) family escaped Mexico for Los Angeles. Some 10 years later while playing for a local team in the park he is spotted by former Newcastle midfielder Glen Foy (Stephen Dillane). He is convinced that Santiago has what it takes
to be a star back in England and so through unusual measures arranges a trial for Santiago with Newcastle United. The rest of the film follows the pitfalls of professional football and in particular the press in England, while Santiago completes his trial with the club.
From the beginning it was quite a relief that this wasn’t following the typical Dream Team approach and the budget was being used far more wisely. The film has a real heart warming story to it and of course there are a lot of obstacles in the stars way but I think that just helps to make it a feel good movie. There is a real family friendly feel to this film and while it blends a good mix of Drama with a feel good story it is one for the kids as well.
With directing credits that included a number of episodes of CSI it was pretty safe to assume that this was going to be better than Dream Team. The football angle however had worried me. It shouldn’t have though as director Danny Cannon creates a film that is enjoyable to watch. His camera angles work well and having been at Fulham when they recorded some of the footage he has transposed that into the film incredibly well. Even the actual game scenes look far more realistic than the aforementioned Sky One soap.
The direction really was the key to how well this film would actually do. It was important that the script and plot were solid as well but not half as important as how well Cannon merged the plot with real football matches. The plot was put together by a combination of Mike Jeffries and Adrian Butchart and between them they seem to have real captured the story of the young player with dreams. They also have done a very good job of recreating the sort of reaction from the press and public to Premiership footballers and their antics on and off the pitch.
I’d never come across Kuno Becker before this film, mainly because he was a bigger star in Mexican films than main stream Hollywood. He has made the step into lead roles in major films quite easily and his performance as Santiago is really rather impressive. It was a role that could have broken the film but Becker’s performance is one of the real highlights from the film. Unlike the cameo appearance from David Beckham, which has me worried about the second Goal film as he’ll be in it far more.
Along side him in the lead role as a playboy Premiership player is Alessandro Nivola. He seems to take to the part excellently and really captures the look and attitude of some of the more over paid stars in the world of Football today. There is also a decent performance from Anna Friel as the Geordie Nurse that the young hero falls for. Her performance is good and the chemistry between her and Becker seems to really add an additional dimension to the movie.
Overall it’s not really a film I had expected to enjoy. While it was based around football I thought it sounded a bit too clichéd. Of course they have now made Goal 2 and the third one is in the progress of being made but I felt this one actually ended too soon. It needed a bit of tidying up at the end, which left me a little confused. Despite all this it is a good family movie and one I can recommend to those who like Football and those that don’t. If you want a movie with a feel good ending to it, then this is most certainly it.
Amazon: £6.97 Amazon Marketplace: £3.99
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Production Year: 1977 - Action/Adventure - Director: Clint Eastwood - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring:Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Pat Hingle, William Prince, Bill McKinney
Action/Adventure - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring:Jack Ging, Marla Heasley, Lance Legault, Melinda Culea, Mr T, Dwight Schultz, Dirk Benedict, George Peppard, Carl Franklin
Production Year: 1964 - Action/Adventure - Director: Cyril Endfield - Original Language: English - Classification: Parental Guidance - Starring:Stanley Baker, Jack Hawkins, Ulla Jacobsson, James Booth, Michael Caine, Nigel Green
Production Year: 2002 - Action/Adventure - Director: Vincenzo Natali - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring:Lucy Liu, David Hewlett, Anne Marie Scheffler, Joseph Scoren, Matthew Sharp, Jeremy Northam
Does Anna Friel produce a good Geordie accent then?
mightymuffin 25.06.2007 11:57
Lots of detail - good review but not for me, sadly xx
jo145 25.06.2007 09:46
Again I'm not a footie fan, but my son is. This sounds watchable as I would like the part of the child given a chance.What a pity about the ending though. Jo x
Within a matter of minutes, you know how this ones going to play out.Goaltells the tale of ... more
Santiago Nunez, a Mexican living in Los Angeles. His family are poor, his father has ideas for what he wants him to do, and yet he has an incredible football tal...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Within a matter of minutes, you know how this ones going to play out.Goaltells the tale of ... more
Santiago Nunez, a Mexican living in Los Angeles. His family are poor, his father has ideas for what he wants him to do, and yet he has an incredible football tal...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
When ten-year-old Santiago Munez crossed the Mexican border into America, he had two ... more
things with him - hisfootball and a ragged picture of the FIFA World Cup. This rags-to-riches story of trial and tribulation, love and loss, tragedy and triumph is the...
Advantages: Lots of great goals on this DVD by players who have represented Newcastle United Football Club Disadvantages: also alot of not so good goals! who have represented Newcastle United, but it doesnt matter how they go in!!
![Goal! [DVD] [2005]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78512492.jpg "Goal! [DVD] [2005]")
very helpful by (100%):
