Gol II: Vivendo o Sonho

I loved the first Goal!. I found it to be the best football movie since Victory,and was glad to know that it would be followed by 2 sequels that will take our Mexican Pele to Real Madrid to play Champion's league final and then to the world cup. Sorry to say,or write,and sorry for myself,this one is a step back,a big one.The only part that isn't worse in this one is Alessandro Nivola,the guy knows what he is doing and does it good.For everything else...hmmm.. First-the script is rather clumsy,making our "hero" deal with such problems as meeting his mother that left him when he was a kid,dealing with a jealous girlfriend,an injury,loss of a friend and an agent....and in a mix of all this he does actually play for Real Madrid and meets Becks,Raul,Roberto Carlos....almost like that isn't the most important thing here and the reason why me and lot of other people want to see this in a first place. The chosen director wasn't the happiest choice because the guy has serious problems with pacing and working with actors like he has already showed in his debut,the 2005 remake of Hause of Wax.I saw that a third Goal! will be directed by Michael Apted and that is a good news,at least I hope so. Well it's not all bad,after all there are so few football movies these days(unlike boxing or American football)that I cherish even a flawed one like this and will definitely check out the third Goal! once it's out.

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.

Just saw Goal 2 earlier today, opening day across the UK. I must say that it was a solid sequel to the first, which I enjoyed thoroughly. Anyone who liked the first Goal movie should enjoy this. It continues the story of Santiago who gets transferred to mega-team Real Madrid in the opening sequences and follows his new life in Spain. Massive paychecks and beautiful women begin to get to Santi's head and we see a darker, perhaps weaker side of our hero in this chapter. All the main characters from the first Goal have roles in the sequel as well as cameos by superstars like Zidane, Ronaldo, Raul and Beckham. Solid sequel that is recommended to all fans of the original! If you haven't seen Goal yet, you should catch that before seeing part 2.

I couldn't wait for this to hit the big screen but to my disappointment, the film wasn't half as good as i had expected. After seeing the first i didn't know when the super subs dream was going to end, but at Real Madrid with superstars surrounding him, i thought i was in for a treat. But to my mistake, the storyline steers of course of the footballing world bringing in a twist of family life which was almost suddenly killed of by the stress of which football brings. Every little boy's dream is to play football at a professional level but this film gives us an inside view as to what goes on off the pitch and in my opinion doesn't have enough twists in the story. As i'm a football fanatic i loved the matches they played and the 3-2 comeback in the Champions League final was amazing but so predictable. Overall i feel the film was a failure but is still worth watching so that there is some hope that GOAL III can impress and revive the disappointment of GOAL II. Daniel Bryson

Although I was biased towards the first movie as I am a Newcastle United fan, I felt let down by Goal! 2, not just that Munez had the audacity to leave the Toon for Real Madrid, but due to the poor direction, plot and screenplay of the sequel.

The first movie, although far from perfect, had its moments, a lively screenplay, absorbing direction and a fairly tidy plot, Goal!2 on the other hand, was found wanting in all of these areas.

The plot felt far-fetched and desperate, and the cinematography amateurish, I found the film entertaining but not absorbing, I'm sure I will watch Goal! 3 pure for a sense of personal closure rather than because of excited anticipation.