Goal II: Living the Dream (2007)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

Jaume Collet-Serra

Writers:

Mike Jefferies (screenplay)
Mike Jefferies (story) ...

Release Date:

29 August 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Sport

Tagline:

The Journey Continues...

Plot:

After gaining experience with the football club Newcastle United, Santiago Munez (Becker) gets a huge break when he's transferred to Real Madrid. |

Plot Keywords:

Sequel | Naked Man | Sequel Mentioned During End Credits | Child Driving Car | Number In Title

Cast

Kuno Becker	...	Santiago Muñez
Stephen Dillane	...	Glen Foy
Anna Friel	...	Roz Harmison
Leonor Varela	...	Jordana Garcia
Elizabeth Peña	...	Rosa Maria
Carmelo Gómez	...	Burruchaga
Miriam Colon	...	Mercedes
Frances Barber	...	Carol Harmison
William Beck	...	Steve Parr
Kieran O'Brien	...	Hughie McGowan
Sean Pertwee	...	Barry Rankin
Rutger Hauer	...	Rudi van der Merwe
Alessandro Nivola	...	Gavin Harris
Iker Casillas	...	Himself
Iván Helguera	...	Himself

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some sexual content.

Runtime:

115 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Ireland:12A | UK:12A | Singapore:PG | Germany:o.Al. | Argentina:13 | South Korea:12 | USA:PG-13 | Australia:M | New Zealand:PG | Australia:PG (Cable TV rating) | Iceland:L

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company:

Milkshake Films

Trivia:

The real Champions League Final Game was Arsenal vs. Barcelona with Barcelona winning 2-1. Real Madrid lost to Arsenal in the first knock-out round with a 1-0 overall score in both legs.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Before the final match for the champions league title starts, in Real Madrid's locker room, you can see LFP logo (Spanish football federation) on the sleeves of Real Madrid's t-shirts. It's totally inappropriate for a European tournament for it is used only in domestic leagues and cups. Though both half's of the game are played with the right equipment, the Champions League one!

Quotes:

Rudi van der Merwe: First you listen to your heart, then you listen to your head and then your wife will tell you what to do.

Movie Connections:

Features Goal! (2005)

Soundtrack:

PUSH THE BUTTON

Better than the first one!

Not a classic by any means, but at least, in comparison to the first one (Goal!), a more accomplished film.

The game scenes were not as contrived as in the first movie, hardly surprising since some of the clips were straight off real matches.

Becker did not look out of his depth in the company of the likes of Zidane, Roberto Carlos and David Beckham -- as long as he did not have the ball, that is. In a dressing room scene inside the Bernabeu, for instance, Becker's time on the ball in a jolly juggling scene was thankfully limited to one touch.

I guess it's too much to ask for an actor who had real football skills, and I guess that realization kept the cameras more focused on the 'real' football players in game situations. This added more to a sense of realism, as compared to the first movie when Becker was scene doing all sorts of fantastic things -- corny to a trained eye.

This movie's real merit comes from the way it handled the human element: Santi's head getting a tad too big from all the media attention and from being in the company of Real Madrid's galacticos; the lover's tiff with Roz, doubtless echoed in many a professional football player's life; and the surprise of finding he has a half-brother living in Spain along with the painful reunion with a long-lost Mother.

Dramatic without going overboard, and without losing touch with the primary plot that this is a professional footballer's story.