Michael Fassbender’s Soccer Adventure: Next Goal Wins
Director: Taika Waititi
Writer: Taika Waititi (Screenplay)
Cast
- Michael Fassbender (The Snowman)
- Oscar Kightley (Sione’s Wedding)
- Elisabeth Moss (Shirley)
- Taika Waititi (Free Guy)
- Will Arnett (Minions The Rise of Gru)
- Rachel House (Eagle vs Shark)
Plot: The story of the infamously terrible American Samoa soccer team, known for a brutal 2001 FIFA match they lost 31-0.
Runtime: 1 Hour 44 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Next Goal Wins starts when American Samoa get embarrassed in a FIFA World Cup Qualifier. 10 years later, they are still trying to recover and regain some dignity. However, they haven’t improved over that time and remain ranked the worst in the world. Elsewhere, Thomas Rongen (Fassbender) gets sacked from the US national team and can’t find a new role.
Thomas gets sent to American Samoa to improve them and see if he can get them to do something as simple as scoring a goal. However, he finds this incredibly challenging as he battles his demons. Can he reshape the team in time for the next qualification?
Verdict on Next Goal Wins
Next Goal Wins is a comedy-drama following the American Samoa football team trying to redeem themselves after an embarrassing defeat. They hire a new coach from outside of the island and try to prove themselves as a team.
This is a dramatisation of the documentary of the same name. It takes a few elements to add a few more storyline elements. All thrown together with a string of comedy that misses more often than it hits. The football sequences are shot incredibly poorly and feel almost comical in the wrong way. Elsewhere, the film puts too much focus on Thomas Rongen needing to fix himself and outside of the transgender player Jaiyah. We don’t learn much of anything from the rest of the squad.
Sadly, this ends up being one of the weaker sports dramas and the comedy fails on nearly every level. The only positive in this movie comes from showing how much of a game-changer Jaiyah was. Where she became the first openly transgender player to play in a World Cup qualifier.
Final Thoughts – Next Goal Wins is a disappointing sport