Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Goal! (2005)

Predictable and maudlin, yet it's hard not to cheer at least a few times for the hero protagonist. Santiago Munez (Kuno Becker) is so charismatic, we ride his coat tails through his dad's disapproval and sabotage, several false starts, travails and ultimate goals.

Native Mexican Santiago dreams of making it as a professional soccer player. He plays for a local recreational league, but he is certainly the star. When Glen Foy (Stephen Dillane), a former soccer player and scout, catches Santiago in action, he gets an idea--if Santiago can get to England, he gets a chance to try out for Newcastle United. Santiago, an illegal immigrant, who has bigger dreams than owning his father's landscaping biz, takes the necessary steps to make his dream, aided by Glen Foy, happen.

With cameos from Zinédine Zidane, David Beckham and other soccer greats, good casting and a tale of an skilled unknown with a giant dream, the story scores.You know how it's gonna end and when I got there, I was happy for the likable Santiago. When I learned Goal! has a sequel called Goal II: Living the Dream, I smiled and added it to my To Watch list.

Director: Danny Cannon

Country: US

Genre: Drama/Feel-Good

Run time:  116 minutes

Scale: 3.5

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