Goal 2: Living The Dream (12A)
Posted by Nade on Tue, 13 Feb 2007.
Starring: Kuno Becker, Alessandro Nivola, Anna Friel, Rutger Hauer and David Beckham
Sometimes seeming more like a football match translated to the big screen, Goal 2 continues to track the progress of Santiago Munez (Becker) as he follows the path he's always meant to.
After getting his big break with Newcastle United, Santi finds himself catching the eye of Real Madrid, who immediately sign the newest star of British football.
But life at Real isn't what it seems at first. Forced to leave his girlfriend, Roz (Friel), back home in Newcastle, Santi finds himself surrounded by the glitz and glamour of being a football icon, which inevitably leads to the confrontation with the press.
Suddenly he finds himself in over his head, in a world where everything you say and do must be measured, and where to some, sponsorship is as important as what happens on the pitch.
Despite first appearances, Goal 2 isn't a ninety minute long football match posing as important backstory. Cameos from the likes of Beckham, Zidane and Ronaldo raise the profile as well as attract fans of the football world.
Most interesting is the fact that while the film focuses on the glitz and glam that are all too freely associated with being a high-profile footballer, it's shown that money can corrupt a frame of mind without a person even realising.
The film does, however, seem to dig into the bag of cliches that are often used to win over a susceptible crowd. Whilst not always a bad thing, the ending can be seen coming, and so is a bit of a let down when it happens.
Despite all this, and a few loose threads not being tied up at the end, Goal 2 is a pretty entertaining film, provided you don't mind watching a fair bit of match coverage.