★★★ (out of 5)
I am a huge fan of Taika Waititi. Whether it be What We Do in the Shadows, Jojo Rabbit, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, Boy, or Thor: Ragnarok, I have loved every single one of his films. His signature brand of comedy really works for me and I love the way he manages to find a perfect balance between heartbreak and humour. His films always have so much humanity and zany humour.
That was… until last year’s Thor: Love and Thunder. I am still one of the people who ended up enjoying that film, but there is no denying it was a step-down and got a little too silly.
So I went into Next Goal Wins hoping we’d see a return to form for Waititi.
Unfortunately, we didn’t. This film really isn’t Waititi’s best and I honestly think it’s a step down from Love and Thunder. That being said, there is still lots to enjoy here; it’s a light, breezy crowd-pleaser with endearing characters and a likeable underdog story. The film is essentially what you’d get if Ted Lasso, Cool Runnings, and Taika Waititi had a baby.
But damn, this movie is trying way too hard to be funny. It’s like Waititi lost the spark that made his earlier films special. His comedy is getting a little too silly, a little too zany, it needs to be more restrained and controlled. Because he’s so focused on the silliness of it all, we lose some of the heart and humanity in that, which makes the film seem like it is not especially well written and directed. There are a few really great laugh-out-loud moments, but not enough as most jokes didn’t land. The characters are so likeable and endearing, but unfortunately many didn’t have any depth to them. They were just shallow, one-dimensional characters stuck in a rushed story with poor narrative flow. Michael Fassbender is such a great actor, but the script lets him down — he had nothing to work with.
And I say all this while still having enjoyed the film. It’s a good little movie and not terrible by any means, I’ve just come to expect better from Academy Award winner Taika Waititi. It has many enjoyable things, just not enough of them. Definitely my least favourite Waititi film — I hope he finds his way back to the style that worked for him so well in the past! His heart was in the right place here, it just misfired. It’s likeable, just not enough to win me over.
Next Goal Wins is self-aware of the sports genre cliches and white saviour stereotype it’s playing with. Taika Waititi tries to make light of them with a vibrant exaggeration of a true story designed not to be a high piece of art but to simply have fun and make audiences feel good. It’s imperfect but endearing in so many conceivable ways.
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