Next Goal Wins has all the ingredients for a feel-good sports movie—true story, impossible odds, cultural pride, Taika Waititi's signature quirk. But that 6.4 TMDB score tells you it's not quite Cool Runnings or Remember the Titans.

The core story is genuinely inspiring: American Samoa's soccer team went from historic humiliation to actually winning games. That's powerful stuff for kids learning about perseverance. And centering Pacific Islander voices in a mainstream sports film is legitimately important.

But here's the thing: Waititi's comedic sensibility can be hit-or-miss when applied to real people's struggles. Without seeing it, the risk is that the humor undercuts the heart, or the heart bogs down the comedy. The middling rating suggests it landed somewhere in the awkward middle.

For families looking for sports inspiration with cultural depth, this could still work well—especially if you have tweens who need to see that failure isn't final. Just temper expectations. This isn't a instant classic; it's a solid Tuesday night watch that'll spark good conversations about resilience and representation.