Goal! (12A) (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Goal! (12A)

ENGLISH football could do with some good PR at the moment. The great game at least the Premiership, its elite league has come under a barrage of criticism concerning inflated ticket prices, defensive tactics and over-exposure.

A film like Goal! could therefore do for football what Top Gun did for the US military play up the glamour, the sexiness and the machismo.

Never mind that it bears little resemblance to real life.

Goal! tells the story of Santiago Munez (Becker), who we first meet as a 10-year-old fleeing Mexico for a new (illegal) life in Los Angeles. Fast forward 10 years and we find Santiago working for his father as a gardener, raising spare cash in the kitchen of a restaurant, and filling his free time with his one true passion playing football.

In a city where "soccer" is a minority sport, Santiago's talent albeit playing in minor leagues stands out like a beacon, and one that is spotted by visiting Brit Glen Foy (Dillane), a former player and scout who believes the lad has a gift that could light up the game in Europe.

So with a bit of persuasion from Glen, Santiago leaves behind a sun-soaked LA for rain-sodden Tyneside, where he is given a trial with Newcastle United.

Naturally, Santiago takes time to adjust in what is for him an alien environment. But eventually his skills and ability catch the eye of the club's coaching team, and the boy wonder finally gets his big chance.

Does he take it? Well, it's giving nothing away to say that that, along with everything else in this film, is about as predictable as this season's Premiership title "race".

Goal! is littered with stereotypes the wide-boy agent, the playboy striker, the gruff Scottish coach and cliches who do you think will take that last minute, edge of the area, free kick in a decisive last game of the season?

Hollywood likes its sports movies American football, basketball, baseball, you name it and the same formula applies. Goal! may be a film about an English game, but apply the Hollywood formula and you've essentially got a Hollywood movie.

It's that predictability that rather takes the edge off the film. Plot twists and character development are telegraphed and any sense of surprise or spontaneity is absent. It's Goal!'s biggest own goal.

Director Danny Cannon tries not to make life too easy for the viewer, but various problems Santiago faces, such as his asthma, his tense relationship with his father, the temptations of a partying lifestyle, are dealt with a bit too easily, giving the story a too good to be true feel.

There are some points in Goal!'s favour. The story is a modern Boys' Own adventure and the Raoul of the Rovers theme should appeal to young football fans, particularly match scenes you really can't see the join when match footage is inter-cut with actors joining in the action with real Newcastle players (although half the team featured have since been transferred to other clubs).

They will also be able to spot various big name players in cameos, including Alan Shearer, Zinedine Zidane, Raul and David Beckham (although I would swear the latter is a lookalike rather than the genuine article).

And Becker is a charming, likeable lead actor, combining wide-eyed wonder and Latin good looks with some nifty ball skills.

Screenwriters Dick Clement and Ian le Frenais are seasoned veterans of both TV and film, and they certainly know about the north-east of England. Exchanges between dry-witted Geordie football fans at least give the script some sparkle, if no surprises.

But, in football parlance, it's still early doors. Goal! is part one of a trilogy and Goal! 2 is already in production.

So it really is a game of two halves or should that be three thirds?

5/10

By Stephen Webb

GOAL!

Starring: Kuno Becker, Stephen Dillane, Anna Friel, Tony Plana

Certificate 12A,

118 mins

Showing at: Shaw Ridge and Greenbridge