Goool!

18th July. That was the premier date of Metegol in Argentina. I was expecting this date since days, months, even since the last year. I was determined to go to watch it immediately in the premier date, I was highly anticipating it, as I'm a fan of all the works by Campanella. I watched El Secreto De Sus Ojos, Luna De Avellaneda, El Hijo De La Novia, and the TV series Vientos De Agua. This I'm writing after returning watching Metegol in the cinema.

This is truly a masterpiece that will be remembered as a classic for years and years to come!!!! It is usual from this director, as all his films have become some of the finest and most successful both in the box-office and by critics alike. Campanella has done it again. He has proved that he is made of what Oscar winners are made of. He has proved how an animated film could also be done. He is pioneering and leaving a mark in the history of films. And he is making proud his own country, Argentina.

Metegol (or Foosball, as it will be called in English-speaking countries) makes you immerse in the rich and legendary folklore of football from Argentina. Stories, tales, legends, anecdotes, songs, matches, everything is freshly caught in the screen, in the atmosphere, in the characters. The little town, the bar, the corner where the foosball laid. Everything is familiar, and everything makes you remember the times when you played and breathed those places...

Without doubt the best of the film are the characters. And specially the characters dialogs. Everything they say is a reference to famous folklore cites and famous players sayings. The film is packed with subtle references to several history episodes, like when Grosso shouts his goal to the camera, he is shouting it like Maradona did one of his in the 1994 USA World Cup. When the town major leaves the town, he leaves in a helicopter, like in 2001 did the Argentine president De La Rua (and then the 2001 Argentine crisis was unleashed). And I could continue with more and more references and trivia, but I think it will be tastier if you find them for yourself ;) The other thing of Metegol which is the best, is its animation. OH GOD, THE ANIMATION. You would think that Tangled has set the bar in animation films, with the 260 millions it has cost to be made. Metegol was made with a much lower budget, just 20 millions of dollars. But you don't realize the difference of budgets. In fact you don't realize this is not a film made by Pixar nor Dreamworks. Metegol makes the eye-candy enthusiast rejoice in the vividness of the sequences, and makes the spectators hold tight in their seats as the action-paced scenes go on. In animation academies and schools, one of the classic tests you would have is to make an animation of a ball jumping. In Metegol you see the ball jumping, bouncing around the corners, passing between legs, hitting the body parts, kicked, flying, zig-zagging, being head-butted, being stopped by a player's foot, being handled in several football tricks, and so on. This film truly will be shown in animation academies for years and years to come, pointing out what animation can do. All things considerate, 20 millions of dollars make this film the single one most expensive in the entire Argentine film history, so in a certain way in this film Campanella truly is betting high.

In a trip to Euro-Disney I ate in a restaurant in the park, which was decorated with baseball photos and American imagery. On a wall, there was a picture that said "to understand the American way of thinking, you have to understand the sport of baseball". So watching Metegol could be a nice introduction to Argentine culture, folklore and philosophy. And I will rephrase that one saying I read in a picture on a wall, "to understand the Argentine way of thinking, you have to understand the sport of football". ;)

It is a charming, accomplished piece of animation cinema that will have a universal appeal . In the small village where Amadeo (voiced by Rupert Grint) lives there is no one good enough to challenge his skills at Table Football. But, while Amadeo may be a genius as a table football player in real life he's a loser . He's in love with Lara (voiced by Fern Deacon) , his childhood friend , but he's so timid that he can't bring himself to confess his love for her . So he just hangs out in his quaint , timeless village . When Amadeo beats the village bully Flash (Anthony Head's voice) at Table Football , the scene is set for an epic rivalry . As Amadeo is extremely skilled and unbeatable in the former play , boasting an unbeaten record on the table in the local bar . Consumed with anger , psychotic Flash helped by his manipulative henchman , vows to get even and 10 years later he returns as an International Superstar, a Football Icon and Galatico determined to wreak his revenge . Flash demolishes the village to build a Football Academy . He destroys the table football table and takes away Amadeo's girl friend the lovely Lara in his chopper . His goal is to face down the terrifyingly skilled and intimidating player with the help of the football team he's assembled . As when Amadeo is distraught one of his tears falls on Skip the captain of the Table Football Players he comes to life and together with other key football players, Rico and Loco, they persuade Amadeo to fight back against the nasty Flash and his villainous hoodlum The Agent. Later on , the young man named Amadeo sets off on an unexpected adventure with the players of his beloved Foosball game and the final match will be in a real football stadium .

This entertaining film packs amusement , slapstick , emotions , comic situations , tongue-in-cheek , fun comedy and many other things . This is a fast crazy movie with lot of funny situations , antics , bemusement and with a bunch of very hilarious roles . It turns out to be pleasantly funny that offers no intellectual stimulus whatsoever ; an exercise in pure amusement in which entertainment and fun are guaranteed . This moving picture contains a series of roller coaster adventures when the two rivals finally face each other they must settle their old score ; at the end takes places an epic confrontation in an impressive stadium that results to be the highlight of the movie . The amusing characters are quite silly , grotesque and likable and the film races on at incredible speed . ¨Futbolín¨ or ¨Unbeatables¨ tells the tale of a gifted kid called Amadeo , who often keeps his talents hidden has two loves in his life , football, and Lara, but he has suffered previously at the hands of his nemesis, Flash , then Amadeo gets some unexpected allies when the tiny football players on his table magically come to life .

The motion picture was stunningly directed by Juan Jose Campanela and was deservedly Oscar nominated for the best foreigner film . Academy Award-winning director Juan José Campanella was born on July 19, 1959 in Capital Federal, Argentina. Having won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film with the disquieting drama The Secret in Their Eyes, he decided to try something so different ; few would have predicted that Argentine director Juan José Campanella would have turned his head to the children's animation . He had the inevitable pressure that comes with a project that follows an Oscar winning film, and about assembling his British cast, which consists of Rupert Grint, Rob Brydon , Fern Deacon , Anthony Head , adding cameo/voice by the same director as Eusebio . Campanella is a director and writer, working in Television as ¨Law and Order¨, ¨ Winds of water ¨, as cinema , being well known for ¨The Avellaneda's moon ¨, ¨Same love same rain¨, ¨Son of the bride¨ with his fetish actor Ricardo Darin (2004) and of course his best film , the hard-hitting, sombre drama The Secret in Their Eyes(2009). ¨Unbeatables¨ also titled ¨Metegol" , or or "Foosball" or "Underdogs" rating : Above average , well worth seeing . Essential and indispensable watching for kiddies and adults .

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.

(No spoilers ahead)

Kids who watch violent movies will enjoy this. It has a few original ideas that can be entertaining for adults as well. However, the interactions between characters are very much put-down based and some other interactions are borderline for what I'd like my kids to see. A pretty disturbing scene is how the bad guy treats the female interest or another scene where rats are introduced as a menacing creature. There were some lovely efforts to create a structured flowing story with some points of emphasis about friendship and sportsman-like behavior. In short, production value is wonderful and if your kids watch ninja turtle style stuff, I'm sure they'd love this one. 8/10 for those kids. 6/10 for everyone else.

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.