Next Goal Wins: Movie Review

Cast: Michael Fassbender, Oscar Kightley, Rachel House, David Fane, Uli Latukefu, Elisabeth Moss, Will Arnett, Rhys Darby, Kaimana
Director: Taika Waititi

Thor director Taika Waititi's big crowd-pleasing sports movie is as formulaic as they come, but is blessed by a big heart that's hard to deny in amongst the predictability of an underdog tale.

The story of what soccer side American Samoa did after their 31-0 drubbing in the World Cup qualifiers at the Socceroo's hands has all the hallmarks of an underdog sporting tale and it's disappointing to note Waititi does nothing to subvert that in a formulaic retelling of proceedings.

Packed with the usual Waititi wacky characters (every single one of the underdeveloped team appears to have some kind of quirk, or exists solely to say something strange), Next Goal Wins' insistence on a filmic 4-4-2 formation is perhaps the most intriguing element of proceedings.

When Michael Fassbender's alcoholic and washed up Thomas Rongen is brought in to coach the team at the behest of Oscar Kightley's head Tavita (easily the MVP of proceedings), the pursuit of scoring just one goal in a competitive game takes over.

But unsurprisingly Rongen discovers there are a plethora of reasons why the squad can't put a foot right as time ticks down to their next appearance.

It's fair to say Next Goal Wins goes for uplifting and heartfelt, which is admirable in this cynical day and age of cinema. But even though Waititi places the American Samoan culture front and centre and the script provides some genuine belly laughs, it feels almost like proceedings are on island time auto-pilot.

As mentioned, Kightley's Tavita is the best of all, with the Bro'Town fave proving to be a national treasure for imbuing his character with heart, warmth and genuine likeability. Fassbender is called on to play nasty and does so with a character that veers into stereotypes in places and acts questionably until reasons for doing so become clear.

What's disappointing about Next Goal Wins is its willingness to raise elements like claiming Rongen is no white saviour brought in to save the team before doing nothing with that idea. It's almost like someone said it as a passing thought and then swiftly moved on.

Ultimately, Next Goal Wins is not a massive disaster; it's more an earnest draw than a major own goal by Waititi et al - if it does much to put the culture up on the screen and pursue his desire to celebrate indigenous culture, that's admirable.  But when there's the nagging feeling that it could have been so much more than just the sum of its parts, then perhaps it seems Next Goal Wins should have gone into extra time behind the camera to match the talent of those in front of it.