Taika Waititi's latest is a decent, by-the-numbers sports comedy, the likes of which we've seen many times before.
This review was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the film being covered here wouldn't exist.The journey for Taika Waititi’s latest film, Next Goal Wins, has been a long and strange one.
'Next Goal Wins' Is a Sports Movie the Likes of Which We've Seen Before As a sports comedy, Next Goal Wins is fairly by-the-numbers, packed with training montages, bringing in new promising players, and inspirational speeches . Basically, take The Mighty Ducks, put them on a soccer field, and move them to American Samoa, and you’ve got essentially the same story. It’s not bad, but considering how Waititi has shaken up genres before, whether it’s exploring the rom-com in Eagle vs.
The Team Is the Real Winner in 'Next Goal Wins' But it’s particularly the delivery of these Waititi lines that really sells them, and while Next Goal Wins does have a solid cast surrounding the team, it’s the players themselves that are the real stars here. Playing what seems like the Waititi role is Oscar Kightley as Tavita, the head of the Football Federation American Samoa, who only asks for one goal—which he asks for over and over.