Based on a true story, this heartfelt underdog comedy follows the American Samoa soccer team, infamous for their brutal 31-0 FIFA loss in 2001. With the World Cup qualifiers fast approaching, the team hires down-on-his-luck, maverick coach Thomas Rongen (Michael Fassbender), hoping he will turn the world’s worst soccer team into winners.
For in-depth thoughts on Next Goal Wins, please see my colleague Kelly Kantrowitz’s review from the Toronto International Film Festival here.
Video Quality
The film debuts on Blu-Ray courtesy of Searchlight Pictures with a sterling 1080p presentation in its original aspect ratio that captures the film perfectly well. While a 4K UHD Blu-Ray would have been a treat, we are just happy this got a physical HD release at all. The movie has a vibrant natural color palette with stunning shots of the island which this transfer handles brilliantly. There is a great amount of detail and clarity throughout the entire presentation in elements such as the clothing and the landscapes. The fine detail that is detectable on faces is always impressive.
Active shots during the games remain stable and avoid any blurring or banding. This is primarily a bright, sunny presentation, but elements in the shadows are aided by deep black levels. Objects hold up very well in the darkness and retain their depth, although the most important elements are on full display in the light. There is no damage, black crush, or digital noise detectable in this transfer. This is a terrific transfer from Searchlight Pictures that allows this brand-new film to sparkle at home.
Audio Quality
Next Goal Wins comes to Blu-Ray with an effective DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track. The movie is mostly dialogue-driven with bursts of activity when the beautiful game is being played. The low end of the track is especially active during a handful of key game moments, but it also comes alive when music is involved. Dialogue and sound effects are carefully balanced with the score and musical tracks where nothing gets muddled in the mix. Surround channels get some nice activity from the environmental sounds of the island. This is a film that is surprisingly satisfying from a sound design perspective. The directionality of this track is on point with sounds coming from all of the appropriate places. This track does everything it needs to do without issue. There are optional English SDH, French, and Spanish subtitles provided.
Special Features
- The Pitch of Life: A pretty interesting 27-minute making-of featurette is provided in which the cast and crew discuss bringing the story to life, the training that went into the gameplay, assembling the ensemble, the challenging nature of some of the filmmaking, the shooting locations, the production design, the direction of Taika Waititi, and more. There are a lot of really fascinating insights that are worth exploring.
- Deleted Scene: There is a two-and-a-half-minute unused scene provided here which finds the priest played by Taika Waititi blessing the team in their moment of need. Given that this character is one of the weaker aspects of the film, it is understandable why this was cut.
Final Thoughts
Next Goal Wins arrives at a time when there seems to be a bit of a backlash against Taika Waititi, as his schtick has apparently worn thin with many. While understandable, this should not keep you from delighting in an underdog tale that has a good amount of laughs and genuine heart. Everything plays out as expected and not all jokes land as they should, but it provides a comfort within its genre confines that will not leave you disappointed. A bit more care taken with some of the cultural and personal elements of the story could have pushed this into classic territory, but it still stands up as fine entertainment. Searchlight Pictures has given this film a Blu-Ray featuring a great A/V presentation and a couple of special features. If you are a sucker for underdog sports stories, give this one a spin. Recommended
Next Goal Wins will be available to purchase on Blu-Ray and DVD on February 27, 2024. The film is currently available to purchase on Digital.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Buena Vista Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.