GOAL! II
LIVING THE DREAM

Starring:
Kuno Becker, Alessandro Nivola, Anna Friel, Stephen Dillane, Frances Barber, David Beckham, Zinédine Zidane, Ronaldo, Robinho, Thomas Gravesen, Steve McManaman, Raul Gonzalez, Roberto Carlos and Rutger Hauer

Director:
Jaume Collet-Serra

Running Time:
115 mins

Out to buy on DVD 11/06/07

 

"Santiago Munez gets his first start for Real Madrid"

When Real Madrid's season ends in a 3 - 0 humiliation to their archrivals Barcelona, they start to look for the player that will ignite the new campaign. That player is Newcastle star Santiago Munez (Becker). Signing for one of the biggest teams in world, Santiago quickly starts to live the Galáctico lifestyle in the Spanish capital. For his fiancé Roz (Friel), this is a change that she struggling to come to terms with as the man she loves becomes to the focus of the paparazzi.

The second of three football (soccer) movies charting the career of Mexican player Santiago Munez strikes but can it score another goal?

The UK/Spain/German production continues as they try and make a movie trilogy about the world's most popular sport. The first 'Goal!' movie introduced us to the characters and the backstory and the second one picks up after Santiago's first season at Newcastle ends. Not a sequel but the continuation of the story, the player comes to the attention of the one of the biggest clubs in the world, Real Madrid.

As they did with the first movie, the filmmakers have gained unprecedented access to the Spanish giants, including their stadium, training grounds and most importantly the team. Like we had with Newcastle United in the first film, Santiago and his friend Gavin Harris get to play with some of the world's best known players but this time they have really upped the ante. Now they are playing with David Beckham, Zinédine Zidane, Ronaldo, Robinho, Raul Gonzalez and Roberto Carlos, the Galácticos of Real Madrid. Again the football scenes are a joy for all fans of the beautiful game to watch. This is realistic football, not the Hollywood version of the game that we have had to get used to since the last great soccer movie, 'Escape to Victory'.

As with the first movie however, all of the drama doesn't just take place on the pitch. The subplots this time involve Santiago coming to terms with international fame, discovering he has family in Spain and his relationship with Roz. These dramatic moments are meant to add substance to the movie and they are well played by Kuno Becker and especially Anna Friel, who are really growing into their roles of Santiago and Roz. Alessandro Nivola is also good as Gavin Harris, who is worried about his contract running out and his current form at the club.

'Goal! II: Living the Dream' continues the story of Santiago's rise to football superstardom and fans will continues supporting him. It does set its stall out with too much drama off the pitch but at the end of the day there has to be a little bit more than just the football. The 'Goal!' franchise has scored a brace, lets see if we can have the hat trick.

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in Widescreen 2.35:1 Anamorphic with a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, the transfer is good.

BONUS FEATURES

Exclusive Access: All Areas (12.16 mins)
Director Jaume Collet-Serra, writer/producer Mike Jefferies, producer Matt Barrelle, co-producer Danny Stepper and stars Kuno Becker, Alessandro Nivola and David Beckham talk about continuing Santiago's story. The featurette takes you behind the scenes of the production of the movie, revealing the unprecedented access to Real Madrid and how the production filmed at real games and then put the stars into the movie.

Deleted Scenes (9.21 mins)
Entitled 'Top Friendly, 'Evicted', 'Whatcha got against Keith?', 'Juicy interview', 'Dignity Boss', 'No love for the fans', 'Happy New Year', 'I'm not sick of you' and 'How's the leg?', these deleted scenes suffer from the lack of an introduction or commentary to reveal why they were removed.

Bloopers (3.13 mins)
Watch the cast make a hash of their lines and have fun on the set.

Audio Commentary
Director Jaume Collet-Serra and writer/producer Mike Jefferies talk passionately about the second film in the 'Goal!' trilogy. The pair talk about the about of access the cast and crew had to Real Madrid and its players. They also talk passionately about the development of the story and the characters, trying to make them as realistic as possible, just like footballers really are. This is a decent commentary that fans of the film will enjoy.

Trailers
Previews of 'Invisible', 'Grey Anatomy: Season 2' and 'Criminal Minds: Season 1'

OVERALL

The DVD treatment for 'Goal! 2: Living the Dream' is good but not as good as it could have been. The featurette is a little short and not as revealing as it could have been but the commentary track more than makes up for it. Fans should be pleased.

DVD

Goal!: The Dream Begins


The Usher Home | Hush, Hush... | The Big Story | The Usher Speaks

Stuck @ Home | Coming Soon | Links | Contact the Usher

2007