Poor retelling of an old story, lacking the writing, acting, pacing, star power, or action to justify its existence. Based on real events, I could let it slide if it was a solid drama that was lacking a bit in the football/soccer department or, as was done to near perfection in Victory (1981), an excellent sport movie with dramatic elements sort of bolted on around it. Unfortunately, The Match fails on both accounts. The match itself, which is supposed to be the highlight of the eponymous film, feels thrown together with very little choreography and both rules and equipment that are completely wrong for that era. If they had missed by a few years or a decade, OK fine... but they missed by 70+ years in some cases. I could go on detailing everything wrong with this movie but, by reading this review, you've already spent more time on it than it deserves. I do not exaggerate when I say it doesn't have a single redeeming quality. Just skip it and watch Victory again (or, for the first time, if you haven't already).

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