Movies on sports have always been a favorite for me. Flicks like Rocky series, Million Dollar Baby, Lagaan and Iqbal(in Hindi) etc. have always occupied a place of appreciation in my list. But 'Goal'? NO MAN. This is not a movie I will like to watch again. First of all, it seems a copy of Iqbal which was released earlier than Goal.
Iqbal very beautifully portrays the passion of Iqbal about Cricket(ya, it was about Cricket), his relations with his trainer/ mentor and his friction with his father. In Goal, on the other hand, Santiago is not doing anything other than only getting recommended by other people. His mentor, Glen has been sidelined totally. And Santiago's father seems real villain when he steals Santi's money. This could have been more balanced(as has been in Iqbal).
In the end I thought, Santiago is not the hero actually. Glen, the Englishman, Harris- his teammate, Grandma and the NewCastle's manager etc are the ones who drag up the plummeting fortunes of Santiago continuously through the movie.
Further, watching Alan Shearer a non entity(where Harris and Santiago do all the playing-Rubbishness) in a match against Chelsea was very painful. There was no need to use such marketing tactics which rely more on brand value of real life players like Beckham, Zidane etc.
Also, I thought I would get to watch beautiful football in the movie. Goal however shows everything other than football. Other movies which I have mentioned above catch the crux of the games very beautifully.
Overall, this was a disappointment for me who have watched Iqbal and Lagaan. Lagaan was an Oscar nominee in foreign language section when No Man's land won the Oscar in that category. I strongly recommend these movies to the IMDb mates.
p.s.:Only things I liked are the performances by Glen and NewCastle's manager.
Iqbal very beautifully portrays the passion of Iqbal about Cricket(ya, it was about Cricket), his relations with his trainer/ mentor and his friction with his father. In Goal, on the other hand, Santiago is not doing anything other than only getting recommended by other people. His mentor, Glen has been sidelined totally. And Santiago's father seems real villain when he steals Santi's money. This could have been more balanced(as has been in Iqbal).
In the end I thought, Santiago is not the hero actually. Glen, the Englishman, Harris- his teammate, Grandma and the NewCastle's manager etc are the ones who drag up the plummeting fortunes of Santiago continuously through the movie.
Further, watching Alan Shearer a non entity(where Harris and Santiago do all the playing-Rubbishness) in a match against Chelsea was very painful. There was no need to use such marketing tactics which rely more on brand value of real life players like Beckham, Zidane etc.
Also, I thought I would get to watch beautiful football in the movie. Goal however shows everything other than football. Other movies which I have mentioned above catch the crux of the games very beautifully.
Overall, this was a disappointment for me who have watched Iqbal and Lagaan. Lagaan was an Oscar nominee in foreign language section when No Man's land won the Oscar in that category. I strongly recommend these movies to the IMDb mates.
p.s.:Only things I liked are the performances by Glen and NewCastle's manager.