Goal 2: Living the Dream continues the rags-to-riches fantasy of Santiago Munez, who migrates from the streets of Los Angeles to become a super-sub at Newcastle. In this sequel, Santi and his buddy Gavin end up at Real Madrid, with Santi on his way up and Gavin on his way down.
This second installment in the Goal trilogy has the original writers but a new director. The movie finishes with both men on the pitch for Real Madrid against Arsenal in a Champions League final.
The Santi and Gavin characters are entertaining, and the story creates many conflicts for Santi, such as a reunion with the mother who abandoned him, fallings out with his pregnant (unknown to him) fiance and his agent, plus a street urchin half-brother and paparazzi get him into trouble.
But without participation from the supporting cast that made Goal 1 so enjoyable (e.g. Stephen Dillane as agent/car mechanic Glen Foy), the acting in this episode does not grab you.
Real players and Real Madrid
However, if you are a fan of Real Madrid or Arsenal, you should enjoy the inclusion of their game footage (actually an early round of the Champions League), and filming inside the Real Madrid locker room. There is also footage from a Real Madrid tour of Japan, which looks like the same footage I saw in their documentary.
The camera loves David Beckham and his tattoos, so you can savor that as well as the many football megastars in the footage of several games. This episode has a lot more game footage than the first.
Steve McManaman
Steve McManaman has a few speaking lines as a Real Madrid assistant coach. He had retired from Man City around the time of filming (2005). His participation is notable, because he left Madrid as a player in 2003 after helping Beckham settle in there. And, the excesses portrayed in the film probably reflect his own superstar life, as the media reported his sex scandals and labelled him one of “The Spice Boys”, as well as “McMoneyMan” for his contract demands.
5 Soccer Movie Mom Rating = 5
Resources:
- Release Date: 2007-02-09 (UK)
- IMDB
- WIKI
- Director: Jaume Collet-Serra
- Stars: Kuno Becker , Alessandro Nivola
- Watch the Trailer
