‘The Greatest of All Time’

movie review: Vijay,

Venkat Prabhu’s ‘GOAT’
chooses theatrical fan
service over a compelling
story
Venkat Prabhu’s ‘GOAT’ might let you down if you’re
expecting a globe-trotting espionage thriller or a genre-
specific entertainer, but it is definitely a celebration of
everything fans have ever loved about Vijay

Director Venkat Prabhu sets the tone of his Vijay-starrer GOAT (The Greatest
of All Time) right from the very first scene. It’s a recovery mission for a
covert team of agents led by Gandhi (Vijay) against the villain Rajiv Menon
(Mohan). Gandhi, as someone the film hints about in its title, brings down
the house with an action sequence laced with his unique style, but before
taking the final shot at Rajiv, he is stopped by his friend, owing to the
circumstances. This sequence, in a way, is a synopsis of the overall plot, and
such slivers of excellence from Venkat and his team stand apart in this
template film enhanced with impeccable fan service.
In GOAT, Gandhi and his Special Anti-Terrorism Squad consisting of Sunil
(Prashanth), Ajay (Ajmal), Kalyan (Prabhu Deva), and their chief Nazeer
(Jayaram) are seasoned agents/friends. Without their rationales milked in
the name of patriotism, we see them as regular office-goers with the usual
workroom banter and why Gandhi’s wife Anu (Sneha) isn’t impressed when
work spills into their personal space. Unless GOAT is your very first action
thriller, you know for sure that all can certainly not be good, and this is just
the calm before the storm. So when tragedy finally strikes, and the film
moves from 2008 to the present, the pedal hits the metal, and GOAT turns
into a Chupacabra.
Inarguably, the best aspect of GOAT is its strong casting. While some might
feel like glorified cameos, the dream team feels like the closest we have
ever gotten to an Expendables. Not only does the familiarity help us invest
in the camaraderie and friendship the team shares, but the veterans bring
their A-game to the party.
Despite the ensemble cast, it’s Vijay who shoulders the film in dual roles as
Gandhi and his son Jeevan. And Venkat, knowing his assignment well, gives
ample space for both characters to have their moments. They both care for
their ménage and have their fair share of losses and a mission to complete.
Then comes the dichotomy, and that’s where both the filmmaker and his
hero shine. As Gandhi, Vijay aces the role of a man with a lot of
responsibilities that turn into a burden and end up as grief —
the actor Vijay takes centre-stage in a scene where his character faces a
major loss. But it’s arguably Jeevan who steals the show (and probably
hence the name), and it’s a blast to see Vijay as a young adult, complete
with antics we have long loved. Without entering the spoiler zone, it’s safe
to say that Vijay has pulled off a role he rarely succeeded in with his past
attempts.
t of All Time. Photo: Special Arrangement

Director Venkat Prabhu sets the tone of his Vijay-starrer GOAT (The
Greatest of All Time) right from the very first scene. It’s a recovery mission
for a covert team of agents led by Gandhi (Vijay) against the villain Rajiv
Menon (Mohan). Gandhi, as someone the film hints about in its title, brings
down the house with an action sequence laced with his unique style, but
before taking the final shot at Rajiv, he is stopped by his friend, owing to the
circumstances. This sequence, in a way, is a synopsis of the overall plot, and
such slivers of excellence from Venkat and his team stand apart in this
template film enhanced with impeccable fan service.

Venkat Prabhu interview on ‘GOAT’: Vijay, Rajinikanth and

Kamal Haasan share a brilliant sense of humour
In GOAT, Gandhi and his Special Anti-Terrorism Squad consisting of Sunil
(Prashanth), Ajay (Ajmal), Kalyan (Prabhu Deva), and their chief Nazeer
(Jayaram) are seasoned agents/friends. Without their rationales milked in the
name of patriotism, we see them as regular office-goers with the usual
workroom banter and why Gandhi’s wife Anu (Sneha) isn’t impressed when
work spills into their personal space. Unless GOAT is your very first action
thriller, you know for sure that all can certainly not be good, and this is just
the calm before the storm. So when tragedy finally strikes, and the film
moves from 2008 to the present, the pedal hits the metal, and GOAT turns
into a Chupacabra.
Sneha and Vijay in a still from ‘The Greatest of All Time’ | Photo Credit: Special
Arrangement

Inarguably, the best aspect of GOAT is its strong casting. While some might
feel like glorified cameos, the dream team feels like the closest we have ever
gotten to an Expendables. Not only does the familiarity help us invest in the
camaraderie and friendship the team shares, but the veterans bring their A-
game to the party.

Despite the ensemble cast, it’s Vijay who shoulders the film in dual roles as
Gandhi and his son Jeevan. And Venkat, knowing his assignment well, gives
ample space for both characters to have their moments. They both care for
their ménage and have their fair share of losses and a mission to complete.
Then comes the dichotomy, and that’s where both the filmmaker and his
hero shine. As Gandhi, Vijay aces the role of a man with a lot of
responsibilities that turn into a burden and end up as grief — the actor Vijay
takes centre-stage in a scene where his character faces a major loss. But it’s
arguably Jeevan who steals the show (and probably hence the name), and it’s
a blast to see Vijay as a young adult, complete with antics we have long
loved. Without entering the spoiler zone, it’s safe to say that Vijay has
pulled off a role he rarely succeeded in with his past attempts.

GOAT/ The Greatest Of All Time (Tamil)

Director: Venkat Prabhu
Cast: Vijay, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan, Sneha, Meenakshi
Chaudhary, Yogi Babu
Runtime: 179 minutes
Storyline: A retired Anti-Terrorism Squad agent returns to action when
his past comes back to haunt him

It’s brilliant when a filmmaker takes feedback and reworks their product to
deliver a better end-product. That’s how we got the Zack Snyder cut
of Justice League and a more recognisable titular star in Sonic the
Hedgehog. Similarly, after the de-ageing VFX criticism
that GOAT’s promotional content got, it’s apparent that the makers
returned to the drawing board to give us a far better and more credible
rendition of a younger Vijay. Given that it plays a major component in the
grand scheme of things, the makers took a precarious call that has worked
wonders.

But similar to how the film uses technology to mask a 50-year-old and show
a young adult, it also tries to conceal its shallow, simple, and painfully
predictable plot with its star cast. If Vijay’s Leo reminded you of multiple
films, GOAT will do the same; the Vijayakanth-led Rajadurai, helmed by
Vijay’s father S. A. Chandrasekhar (in which the younger character is named
Vijay, I kid you not), is a film that instantly comes to mind. GOAT, at its
core, is a basic revenge story, and when made to look past the glitz — which
you ought to at one point or the other — you are bound to see the paint
chipping away from its grand facade. The action sequences are not exciting,
the songs and background scores are disappointing, and probably the biggest
pain in the neck is the antagonist played by Mohan. The character is bitterly
underwritten, and the veteran cannot do much to salvage it. Not to mention
how all the prominent female characters are always damsels in distress.

What works for GOAT majorly is how it keeps its stakes to a bare minimum
and relies upon playing to the gallery. And boy, when the film gets into fan
service mode, there’s no stopping it. Right from hat-tips to Vijay’s previous
hit films, dance moves, and even mannerisms and references to his peers
and political innuendoes, GOAT is undoubtedly a pop-culture treasure trove
complete with its share of exciting cameos and a wonderful homage to a
late legend.

GOAT might let you down if you’re expecting a globe-trotting espionage

thriller, or just a genre-specific entertainer along the lines of
Venkat’s Maanaadu. But if you want to catch the celebration of one of our
most popular stars doing everything we love in his penultimate
outing — including transforming from a GOAT to a Beast — then The
Greatest of All Time is worth the entry fee; even with all its drawbacks, isn’t
a lion always a lion?

The Greatest of All Time is currently running in theatres