GOAL! 3

UK, 2009, 95 minutes, Colour.
J.J. Feild, Leo Gregory, Kuno Becker, Nick Moran, Kasia Smutniak, Anya Lahiri, Tamer Hassan, Gary Lewis.
Directed by Andrew Morahan.

Goal 3 is the third film in the Goal series. The series began very well with the focus on Santiago Munez, played by Mexican actor Kuno Becker, his skills at home, his being recruited, moving to the UK and playing in international football matches. The second film followed his career and complications in England as well as his playing in Spain.

This third film is a very poor conclusion to the series. Kuno Becker appears only as a subsidiary character, friend of the central two characters and then injured in a car accident and unable to play in the World Cup. He appears as the best man at a wedding at the end of the film. This seems an unworthy use of the actor from the other two films.

The focus in this film is on two British players in Spain who want to be picked for the England team. They are played by J.J. Feild (Telstar) and Leo Gregory (Stoned, Greenstreet). They perform adequately enough but their characters are not particularly well developed at all. Feild portrays a character who is dropped because of his temperament, discovers that his former girlfriend has a daughter, is a drinker, is finally picked, plays, and is reconciled with his girlfriend and reforms. While this is of value, it is portrayed in a very obvious and clichéd manner. Leo Gregory is the successful player who has an interlude performing in a rather lewd sex comedy science fiction film in Germany. He is also involved in a car accident which leads to his collapse during a match and his death from an aneurysm. There is a scene for his funeral where emotions are let loose – with a good cameo performance from Gary Lewis as his father. Nick Moran portrays an agent who is despised by most of his clients.

Kasia Smutniak portrays an Italian actress who falls in love with Leo Gregory. Anya Lahiri is Feild's girlfriend.

There are some football-playing scenes which might enthuse the fans momentarily when they occur. However, the main attention is given to the characters and their interactions. There is a rather sleazy tone throughout the film in the talk amongst the characters, the emphasis on sex, the costumes and nudity of the rather absurd film being made in Germany. There is also a group of middle-aged and older fans of soccer who follow the teams around, and possibility in their youth gave a bad name to the fans and continue in this vein.

Very little value in seeing the film let alone any discussion on it.