Review of Really Bend It Like Beckham

Introduction

England`s captain.

England`s hero.

England`s number one.

Or an over-rated footballer whose "world class" was shown up for what it really was at Euro 2004?

Well that`s your decision, but here he is fronting a DVD which is supposed to teach kids (his target audience) how to play football. Does he have a UEFA coaching badge or a FIFA pro licence? Not that I know of, but why let those things get in the way of a money spinner?

The material presented here is part of UEFA approved modules on coaching.

Video

An anamorphic 1.78:1 transfer as you might expect from such recent material. It`s all clean and crisp and there aren`t any serious defects. Visually this is not exciting, it`s just Beckham and some kids playing football. They`ve tried to be funky with a few modern graphics, but in the end this material is supposed to be a coaching manual. Plenty of camera angles to follow things from, but this DVD is just too confused about what it wants to be. Is it a football version of The Matrix or is it really about coaching?

Audio

A DD5.1 soundtrack. And the over-riding question is why? This is just a football training video - people playing football and talking about playing football. Why does it need a DD5.1 soundtrack? It doesn`t use it to any extent (apart from a few highlights shots and sound effects), so stereo would have been adequate. 6 tracks of audio is not necessary to transfer Beckham`s nasal twang to your front room. But in this age of presentation over everything else, this is what you get.

Features

It`s hard to tell where to draw the line between extras and the main feature, but the second disc contains more interview footage, effects footage, multi angle stuff as well as some "Beckham career highlights" aka "the ones we could get permission to use the video for".

The interview footage contains hard hitting questions from the children such as "Were you a fan of the Spice Girls?" Paxman is quaking. You might also learn that Victoria likes to play in goal against the kids in the garden.

Conclusion

What is the point of this DVD? If you want to learn to play football, get down to your local club, play at school, join a local league, just get out in the park and play. Watching a DVD telling you how to play football is no good unless you follow it up with a proper training regime surrounded by people who can help you. A DVD can give you some insights into technique and skills, but you`ve just got to get out there and practice. It makes perfect after all.

So should you buy this DVD for your children? Only if you also sign them up for a local team and make them promise to put in the hours at football practice. Then they can waste time watching a vastly overpaid footballer tell them how to play football. Just don`t ask him for any marriage guidance....

Just a few things to consider before you decide to line the man`s pockets with more cash...