Taika Waititi emerged as one of the most promising directors in contemporary Hollywood. His excellent work on “What We Do in the Shadows” earned him Marvel‘s confidence, leading him to direct the third and fourth installments of Thor — one better than the other — all while crafting gems like “Jojo Rabbit.” However, it seems the director’s reputation is taking a hit, and his latest film confirms it.
“Next Goal Wins,” the director’s latest feature, just premiered at the Toronto Film Festival. Starring Michael Fassbender, who made a remarkable comeback with “The Killer,” the movie tells the true story of a soccer coach striving to turn a team of losers into stars. Despite its potential, it hasn’t convinced nearly anyone who’s already seen it.
Director on the decline
“Next Goal Wins” follows the story of Thomas Rongen, a Dutch football coach who achieved a unique feat in the sport: he took charge of American Samoa, one of the worst football teams around, and managed to turn that group of losers into a team of winners.
The storyline might seem familiar, something we’ve seen in cinemas time and again, but with Taika Waititi‘s touch, the story had added potential. However, this doesn’t seem to have mattered much, as the film has received a disappointing reception so far.
The movie currently has a 46% positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, and it seems that more and more negative reviews are coming in as the movie expands and more people can see it. This is the lowest-rated film in Waititi’s filmography, who has generally been very well-received throughout his career. However, even in the fourth installment of Thor, it dropped to 63%, and there’s a lot of ground to cover to reach the numbers of ‘What We Do in the Shadows’ (96%) and ‘Thor: Ragnarok’ (93%).
