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Goal! The Dream Begins (Goal!: The Impossible Dream) (2005)

tomatometer

44

Average Rating: 5.2/10
Reviews Counted: 80
Fresh: 35 | Rotten: 45

Impressive sports action sequences are the highlight, as the run-of the-mill story invokes every known sports movie cliche.

43

Average Rating: 5.2/10
Critic Reviews: 23
Fresh: 10 | Rotten: 13

Impressive sports action sequences are the highlight, as the run-of the-mill story invokes every known sports movie cliche.

audience

76

liked it
Average Rating: 3.7/5
User Ratings: 93,665

My Rating

Movie Info

One young man's dream takes him on a remarkable journey in this sports-themed drama. Santiago Munez (Kuno Becker) was born in Mexico, and came to California with his family when he was just a boy. One of the few things Santiago brought with him was a love for soccer, and while he holds down two jobs -- working landscaping during the days with his father, Hernan (Tony Plana), and as a busboy at night -- he still dreams of playing the game professionally, and spends his precious spare time with an

PG, 2 hr. 1 min.

Sports & Fitness, Drama

,

Sep 12, 2006

$4.2M

Buena Vista Pictures

Cast

All Critics (87) | Top Critics (24) | Fresh (37) | Rotten (47) | DVD (13)

It is constructed of sports movie clichés but built on an unshakable foundation of earnestness.

October 30, 2006 Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | Comment
Minneapolis Star Tribune
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Everything here is beyond predictable.

June 9, 2006 Full Review Source: Detroit Free Press | Comment
Detroit Free Press
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Goal! is filled with cringe-inducing scenes we've seen before many, many times.

May 16, 2006 Full Review Source: Ebert & Roeper | Comment
Ebert & Roeper
Top Critic IconTop Critic

... it is good and caring work, with more human detail than we expect.

May 13, 2006 Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | Comment
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic IconTop Critic

In the end, I can't think of a movie that matters less than Just My Luck. It's just negligible.

May 12, 2006 Full Review Source: Washington Post | Comment
Washington Post
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Predictable Goal! The Dream Begins may not be the stuff of everyone's reveries, but the film is capably acted and somewhat inspiring.

May 12, 2006 Full Review Source: USA Today | Comment
USA Today
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Director Danny Cannon ("I Still Know What You Did Last Summer") captures every bit of Kuno Becker's star quality although the committee-written script remains slack.

April 19, 2009 Full Review Source: ColeSmithey.com | Comment
ColeSmithey.com

Soccer melodrama. Older tweens and up.

July 23, 2008 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media | Comment
Common Sense Media

...begins as a stereotypical sob story but turns out to be entirely uplifting, just as advertised. (Blu-ray Edition)

January 15, 2007 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis | Comment
Movie Metropolis

Fits the sports movie mold to a fault. It forces the familiar down your throat. However football fans might appreciate a thoughtful "Hollywood" film about their sport. The somewhat extensive list of extras is also mighty enticing.

January 5, 2007 Full Review Source: Calgary Movies | Comment
Calgary Movies

...engaging and fun to watch, thanks mainly to Kuno Becker in the title role (he's such a nice kid, we can't help but root for him).

September 13, 2006 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis | Comment
Movie Metropolis

The action on the field won't be enough to sate the most soccer-crazed viewers.

June 24, 2006 Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | Comment
Austin Chronicle

The combination of button-pushing uplift, sundry sweeping helicopter shots and a bombastic score that sounds like it came on a free transfer from a Tony Scott movie proves as resistibly synthetic as the CGI-enhanced heroics on the pitch.

June 24, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out | Comment

A predictable mishmash of sports underdog cliches with a domestic release timed to capitalize on anticipation for the World Cup. Accordingly, expect plenty of elbow room at the local multiplex.

June 12, 2006 Full Review | Comment
Denton Record Chronicle (TX)

The script is about as solid as a penalty kick with a deflated ball.

June 8, 2006 Full Review Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press | Comment
St. Paul Pioneer Press

A soccer-themed soap-opera that misses the net as an insipid, if inspirational, underdog tale.

May 20, 2006 Full Review Source: Modamag.com | Comment
Modamag.com
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Goal! The Dream Begins (Goal!: The Impossible Dream)

Most movies about soccer suck. Most movies about rags to riches suck. Most soccer rags to riches movies in the 2000's suck. But "Goal" didn't suck. In fact, it rocked. It had great acting, good emotion, a nice ending. I really enjoyed it, despite how corny and cliche it was. Like I mentioned, the worst part about the

July 12, 2011
Marc L.
Marc Lewis

Super Reviewer

Great Soccer Movie! This is how sports movie should be, with a tremendous story and fantastic ending!!! Like millions of kids around the world, Santiago harbors the dream of being a professional footballer. However, living in the Barrios section of Los Angeles, he thinks it is only that--a dream. Until one day an

August 22, 2009
xXGiNoBiLiPRXx
Manu Gino

Super Reviewer

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