The football in this film is awful and damn right cringeworthy. He looks like he's never kicked a ball in his life let alone play at the highest level, truly awful depiction of the great game. If you're going to make a FOOTBALL film get someone who can actually play and kick a football, not looking like it's the first time he's played!!

Although the sequels were diminishing (the 3rd one is terrible) this first in the FIFA commissioned series is a real gem that manages to both be about sport and also about real character and their emotions.It's real fantasy stuff as Santiago Munez comes from LA to play for Newcastle Utd and the journey he goes through along the way. The actors all do some nice work in their roles and the script from La Frennis and Clement adds a fair bit of humour.The football scenes themselves are a bit hit and miss, but certainly well attempted. If nothing else this film captures the spirit and love that people have with the English Premier League.Overall my advice would be to watch this film and forget about the sequels.

The film was amazing and emotionally it was speaking about how you reach your goal. I liked it because the actors were good and the story was moving along. Also it was an example of a story that could happen to anybody. That made it amazing. However I have seen a lot of movies and for most if them I can predict the ending, so its boring sometimes. The movie works because it is, above all, sincere. It's not sports by the numbers. The starring performance by Kuno Becker is convincing and dimensional and we begin to care for him. He plays Santiago Munez, a busboy in a Los Angeles Chinese restaurant, who plays in an after-work soccer league so deprived that he wears cardboard shin protectors. Then he's spotted by a former soccer pro (Stephen Dillane), who tells him he has potential, and arranges for him to get a tryout with Newcastle United.

It is believed that replicating the action and thrill of any sport on the big screen is a very difficult task. Over the years, many movies have tried to do just that. But, they always had quite a few shortcomings. 'A Perfect Game', 'Goon' and 'Hoosiers' are very good examples of this phenomenon. So, it was really refreshing to see a sports movie that actually delivers what people expect from it.GOAL! THE DREAM BEGINS is a sports drama about an underprivileged young man chasing his dream. Santiago is born with a love of football (Soccer, for all my North American readers). As a Mexican immigrant living in Los Angeles, Santiago was destined to follow his father's path to work at menial jobs to earn money to support his family. All this changes, when a scout gives him chance to showcase his footballing talents in England, against his father's wish. Santiago gets to England and goes through a series of ups and downs to achieve his dream of playing professional football.GOAL! is a delightful and morally uplifting movie. For a football fan this movie is a must watch. There are a couple of very famous football players who make cameo appearances in the movie. Even though this movie is a little slow at times, the positive elements by far outnumber the negative ones.To sum it up, GOAL! is very engaging. Viewers can easily identify with the plight of all the characters.