Pelé: Birth of a Legend (2016)

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

One of those movie experiences that is so good it makes you realize you've been grading everything else on a curve.

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

Not well made movie, Clichés after Clichés, emotion compassion. Pelé deserve way better than hat. Don't waste your time. typical Hollywood movie

First off, I am a Football fan! Football is the greatest show on earth! More people watch football world cup than any other event in the world. But to capture the magic for a movie is tricky business.Pele is as good as it gets when one makes a movie about football. I feel the movie did not do enough to do justice to "The Man". It also had a "dubbed" movie feel.It was a good movie with some great moments capturing some of the magic of Pele's rise to stardom.The movie was overall good, although it had the potential to be great. It was enjoyable and emotive at some points.

It is not a good sports movie, but it is definitely a great entertainer if you are looking for something really frivolous to go with your frolic mood. It seems to have been helmed for those who aren't really big fans of the game.PELE: BIRTH OF A LEGEND IS BASED ON PELE'S LIFE Pele: Birth of a Legend will let you have a glimpse into the life of Pele the true legendary footballer and throw some light towards his madding fad. Things that were pulling him down were all around him, and despite all the odds he shone through.The movie tries to capture his street football shenanigans, adds in some humour, a pinch of dramatic spices and tries to bring in the forefront the popular Brazilian Ginga style that was Pele's USP.DOWNSIDES OF THE MOVIE Despite how Pele: Birth of a Legend lodges in you some good vibes, it falls flat owing to its pathetic depiction. You constantly see drops of frustration on Pele's brows, which really takes a toll on your spirits. If you are really looking for something extraordinary to happen given the mammoth sports figure he is, the movie lets you down so many times, you constantly wonder if something out of the box is going to happen. Even though it does, it is nothing akin what happens in a gut-wrenching live sports match.Leonardo Lima Carvalho was a pleasant find. He made young Pele really endearing. His group shenanigans were a delight to watch. The starting bits of the movie were the best moments I would say. Even Seu Jorge who played Dondinho was great. Vincent D'Onofrio unfortunately had very little to play with in his baggage, but he performed his bits nicely.SPOILERS DRIBBLING AHEAD Melodrama has been deliberately pushed in its frames and there is so much of it that it becomes really exhausting at times. When in the middle of the game players go in bullet mode to have a look at each other, you can almost imagine how implausible its dramatic elements must be.THE LOST PELE CAMEO There is a guest appearance by the legend himself at one point, which will bring a smile to your face. But that's about it. Eventually you get to see one game in Pele: Birth of a Legend, but then it is smitten with so much melodrama that sports simply gets lost in those pointless close-up frames. Nothing wrong with watching it once though.Read all my reviews here: http://straightfromamovie.com

This PG rated movie is about the greatest futbol (soccer in USA) player that ever lived. Pele. It covers his youth, in the slums, learning to play futbol in the streets using socks and other clothing stuffed together to make a futbol so they could play. Then progresses through hardships encountered on his way to playing for one of the many futbol teams.What most Americans won't know is that in Brazil (as with all futbol countries) there are massive leagues on multiple levels of the society. They all play against each other or against other Latin American teams for various awards and cups. Pele played for a team called Santos.From Santos he was picked, like other great players from other teams, to play on the National Team. I don't like that they don't show this process in the movie because it shows the level of competition. We are talking thousands of players rather than a few dozen which they show in the movie.The movie doesn't show any love interests. This biopic covers only his youth and his journey to play in the 1958 World Cup. Then the movie ends and gives short mentions to the what he did afterwards. Then there is a collection of his game skills shown in a small window as the credits roll.Overall it was pleasurable to watch and I knew that he would have a small cameo in the movie. Did you see him?8/10 stars for good clean entertainment