Metegol

Oscar winner, Campanella has do it again.

Metegol (or Underdogs in the English version )is a technical achievement rarely seen outside USA. The first 3D animated movie produced in Argentina, has a technical quality (animation and images ) that easily compare and many time surpasses far more expensive PIXAR projects. Some scenes, like the soccer match, the chase in the dump and in the amusement park that are simply outstanding and pure fun.

In terms of story and characters; the movie is simple but effective.

Instead of the boring poetry and sadness PIXAR infuses in all its animations Campanella went for simple message ( never surrender, fight for what is yours ) with more complex morals for grown-ups ( life is more than games, without the other team there is no match) so kids and adults enjoy the movie.

Sadly that did not happened when I took my 5 year old daughter and her cousin to Monsters U, Cars 2 or even The LEGO movie; after the first half all they wanted was to leave or see something else; not a good sign for a kid's movie.

In brief; this a fresh movie on a subject like soccer that basically interest about 80% of the people on the world. I am not on that percentage but even the game scenes are so amazing you get hook up.

It was an amazing experience I didn't surpass in years. This great film is not perfect but it is brilliantly made, incredibly animated and brings a lot of fun in every single minute. The story is a simple one, we watched in lot of movies before. But it touches you in the heart, as it does every time you see common, weak people fight to the powerful ones, just armed with passion, dedication and deliver; the kind of sensations you feel in Rocky I, Real Steel, The Boxer or much other films. Besides, it is equipped with small, funny references here and there, as the Major flying out in a helicopter, like in the 2001 Argentinean crisis. If you liked Cars, Toy Story, Monsters Inc, etc you cannot lose this masterpiece.

Having read the IMDb I am no longer sure of the movie's title but I'm calling it The Unbeatables because that was definitely the name on the print I saw. And I am pleased I saw it. The animation is just fabulous. Those great colors and funny details. The characters are lots of fun, the plot keeps moving, and the jokes are great and just keep coming. I especially liked the witty lines about football. No I'm not a great football fan but I loved this movie. It cleverly celebrates football and at the same time has a much needed pop at it. Campanella is a great film maker. If you have seen The Secret in their Eyes then you would not expect this. He has such range. The Unbeatables is a very good comedy.

In a small town, the local pub is everyone's meeting point and for a young boy the plastic football game is his whole world. As with all boys, he had to deal with bullies and in a heated exchange he defeated the town's bully who swore to avenge this.

With the passing of time, the town's bully became rich and famous but the bitterness never subsided so he plans to take over this little town and destroy the pub in which he as defeated by what he considered a nobody. The boy who defeated him, is not prepared to sit and take it but will fight to the end to protect his home town.

On the whole, the story had cracks and was uninteresting so one ought not expect lots of excitement. The only compensation came from the good animation with a sense of seeing the world through the eyes of a young idealistic person.

I think that Metegol is great. It is the first time (along with The Secret in their Eyes) that I go to see an Argentinian movie because it is actually really good, and not because it's only Argentinian. Campanella surely knows how to capture or, in this case, produce moments of excitement and humor very efficiently. It is true also that the plot is really naive, but that's not the point. The point is that for the first time Argentina puts its name right there with mega blockbusters like Despicable Me 2 (EXCELLENT Movie, by the way) or any Disney productions. Like I say on the title, I believe that this is the first step to prove that it is possible to do things really well and really competitive. Campanella needs to keep pushing this forward, and he needs to be replenished of creativity by the newer generations of filmmakers. There are only 2 things that I will criticize about this film, and please let these be taken constructively: -Like I said before, the plot is really naive. Not because it's a movie aimed to a kid audience, has to have a kids plot. -The voice acting should be improved. In Metegol, they aimed to have "recognizable faces" for the roles, but they had no experience in voice acting. Pablo Rago, el Negro Fontova and Coco Sily are OK, but I think that Diego Ramos should have put more emotion into his performance. Basically as an audience you kept disassociating the character from its voice, and that CAN't happen.

Well, that's it, if you still didn't watch it, go watch it. It is a great first step in what I believe will be the first of many great Argentinian productions. To all the production and artistic team of this film, chapeau.