To me, this movie is perfection.

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

I can see why Africa United would appeal to children, especially those who have never set foot in Africa. But for anyone over the age of 14, or with the slightest experience of the continent being depicted, I would advise them to avoid this cartoon of a film.The acting is forced, rigid, and in many places just irritating. The same can be said for the storyline. Cheap attempts to popularise the characters using witty retorts or stoicism only rendered them devoid of credibility. The characters' perfect diction and rehearsed theatrics killed off any hope of believing in them as people, or issues, or even Africans.The narrative develops by layer upon layer of predictable clichés - warlords, HIV/AIDS, rude immigration officials, and of course football - interspersed with cheesy triumphalism (i.e. kids beating the baddies) that destroyed any sense of realism about the plight of disadvantaged African youths.Picturesque countrysides, attractive smiling faces and brightly coloured markets were aplenty, so at least the camera work brought life to an otherwise moribund story. The only other redeeming features were the soundtrack and its 88 minutes runtime. 'Extraordinary story' this was not.As noted elsewhere, 'One day a filmmaker will just let us be 'people' - not victims, clowns or the underdogs always searching for more than we have'.This was more 'Sentimentalism United' than any story about football or Africa, as it could and should have been. A great opportunity missed.

To me Africa United is a good and funny film, in spite of the hard topics of horror and terror in Africa. It made me smile and laugh, especially Dudu. It's a fresh film, with a lot of energy and adventure. It offers a good vision of friendship. It's very entertaining and the soundtrack is brilliant and cool, it made me sing! A lot of different feelings and emotions are in this film, so it's very poignant. And there is a very good cast with young but good and professionals actors. But, it's not the film of the year, because the story is a little bit thin, it's more for children. But, if you want to spend good time... GO AND SEE IT!

I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of 'Africa United'. Full of energy, humour, colour, passion - it kept me hooked from start to finish. I laughed many times, and ended with a slightly moist eye that I had to hastily conceal from my partner sitting next to me.The film received a 5-minute standing ovation at the end.I think first and foremost this is a family film. It's not a forensic study of Africa's social or political problems, nor is it a realistic portrayal of the everyday lives of ordinary Africans. Critics complaining about this seem to have missed the point.It's a road movie about the passion and courage of young people. It's magical, like a fairy story. The fact that it's set in Africa enriches this sense of magic - and offers interesting opportunities to explore difficult issues in the context of a family movie. But it's not a commentary on Africa - it's about a group of young people who do something extraordinary in an extraordinary place.The fact that it breaks film-making barriers in Africa (first feature to be filmed in Burundi etc), but keeps its focus firmly on drama and adventure rather than social commentary makes it a very unique 'African' film.I will certainly watch again because it made me laugh and cry. And surely that's enough for any film, irrespective of where it's set.

Africa United is a fantastic film that all ages will enjoy. It doesn't shy away from tackling some of the real issues that face the continent, but encapsulates it in a terrific story with great humour (some real laugh out loud moments) and brilliant soundtrack. It not only provides for an excellent and entertaining film but the creativity of the direction and production really makes these issues accessible particularly to a younger audience. The film has received amazing receptions at both the Toronto and BFI film festivals and has been getting great press in the UK as it hits the screens this weekend. In my view it's thoroughly deserved as is its comparisons as the African Slumdog. I'm certainly encouraging everyone I know to go see this great film and hope you will too.