- Release Date: 02/02/2024
- Cast: Michael Fassbender, Oscar Kightley, Kaimana, Beulah Koale
- Director: Taika Waititi
Unthinkable Misfire- Is this the most underwhelming and ordinary Taika Waititi film ever?
“Next Goal Wins” is the story of the American Samoa football team, rated as the worst football team in the world, and how, under the tutelage of Thomas Rongen (Michael Fassbender), they managed to win their first international game. The narrative also takes a long and hard look at Rongen’s own shortcomings as a person and how he learns to find his footing in a place that is totally alien to him. He goes on to find happiness, purpose, and solace and learns to have fun, understanding that it is more important than any goal or objective he may set for himself.
The film begins with American Samoa losing 31-0 to Australia in a FIFA match. This was considered to be the worst drubbing a team has ever received. We then see a different American Samoa team a few years later performing no better than they had against Australia, but this time against Samoa. The team manager, Tavita (Oscar Kightley), decides to bring in a foreign coach to at least have the team score one goal in their nation’s footballing history. The coach happens to be Rongen, who is fresh off the coaching job of the American Men’s football team, and whose ex-wife believes that he would be better off cooling his heels in a place where he would realize the importance of a quieter, simpler, and grounded life that isn’t all about cutthroat competition, millions of dollars, and constant public attention. The rest of the film is a lacklustre and wannabe comedy that, at least for me, didn’t deliver.
The story is so redundant and predictable that I could practically predict every twist and turn, of which there were few. While this is a true story and the achievement of the team was truly incredible, I feel that the presentation of the story could have been a lot better. Another huge issue that I had with the storytelling was that there was practically no impact whatsoever; I sat through the film without ever feeling emotionally disarmed or thrilled at the footballing exploits of the team.
The characters in the story are so rudimentary and built up with so little care that they have no impact on the narrative or the audience. Even the protagonist Rongen is terribly written. He is shown hell-bent on making a certain decision, and then minutes later, he ends up doing something totally different, which was never justified using the story element.
The character of Jaiyah (Kaimana) could have been a powerful and poignant representation of the trials and tribulations of the transgender community and their place in world sports. The real-life character is an inspirational role model who has impacted football with her exploits and achievements. Sadly, in the film, the character is reduced to a caricature that is used to extract comedy at times and, in later scenes, is used to extract drama and emotions that hardly work. The character is never developed enough to justify the audience’s connection with its turmoil and tragedy. Thus, a major character who could have been one of the strongest elements of the film is completely wasted.
The same can be said about the character of Rongen, who is extremely generic and portrayed with little care for hitting the right dramatic notes by none other than the great Michael Fassbender. He is almost immediately lost in the crowd of memories of a hundred other characters like him who were either played better or written better. I would hand over the majority of the blame to the writing department here, who I felt should have done a far better job. Fassbender also didn’t put any additional effort into making the character special or atleast raising it above mediocrity with something special from his end. He just went with the flow. By doing that, he not only robbed the character of any personal gusto and depth but also ensured that the rendition reminded us of other better-rendered characters of similar nature.
Taika Waititi’s comedy has been a hit-and-miss for me. I absolutely loved his sense of humour and how he integrated it with the dark realities of the Holocaust in my favourite film of his, “Jojo Rabbit.” In this film, the comedy felt boring, recycled, and without any soul or punch. I have never seen any of his previous films feel so generic in terms of comedy, wherein the characters just don’t seem to have any energy left to finish a comic line with a bang. The writing proves to be a major issue in terms of the comedy and the comic banter that in a story of this nature had the opportunity to be uproarious. The initial few scenes of the film, especially the introduction of Rongen’s character, gave me some false hope and made me feel hopeful about the rest of the film, but that quickly precipitated with each new scene that made it abundantly clear that the comedy had absolutely no flair or heart.
If that was not enough, this is one of the most boringly shot and edited films of Waititi by far. There is just nothing in the presentation of this story or storytelling techniques to inspire or make the audience stand up and take notice. The trademark Waititi flair and craziness in the flow of the story and the presentation of its more bizarre or thrilling aspects are sorely missing, turning the entire narrative into a poorly made episode of a television show that has one sole purpose, and that is to exist. We have seen a story of this nature before, and the only way a story like this could have been presented with flair and panache was for it to be presented in the trademark Waititi style where he goes all guns blazing with his flashy editing, stylized visualization, fast cuts, and innovative use of the camera. Unfortunately, none of that was to be noticed here.
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“Next Goal Wins” falls disappointingly short of expectations. While the real-life story of the American Samoa football team’s triumph is inherently compelling, the film struggles to breathe life into its characters and deliver the emotional impact it should have. The writing lacks depth, resulting in generic portrayals, especially of central figures like Rongen and Jaiyah. Even the usually brilliant Michael Fassbender fails to elevate the poorly developed character of Rongen. Taika Waititi’s usually vibrant and unique comedic style feels stale and uninspired, and the film’s cinematography and editing lack the trademark Waititi flair that could have injected some much-needed energy. Ultimately, what could have been an inspiring underdog tale ends up feeling mundane and forgettable. “Next Goal Wins” is a missed opportunity to capture the true essence of a remarkable sports story and that of the renaissance of a man who was desperately looking for his place in the world.
Rating: 2/5 (2 out of 5 stars)
The views expressed in this article are that of the reviewer and do not reflect EastMojo’s position.
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