GOAT movie review: Vijay, Venkat Prabhu’s ‘The Greatest of All Time’ chooses theatrical fan service over a compelling story

Vijay in a nonetheless from ‘The Biggest of All Time’
| Picture Credit score: Particular Association

Director Venkat Prabhu units the tone of his Vijay-starrer GOAT (The Greatest of All Time) proper from the primary scene. It’s a restoration mission for a covert workforce of brokers led by Gandhi (Vijay) in opposition to the villain Rajiv Menon (Mohan). Gandhi, as somebody the movie hints about in its title, brings down the home with an motion sequence laced together with his distinctive fashion, however earlier than taking the ultimate shot at Rajiv, he’s stopped by his pal, owing to the circumstances. This sequence, in a approach, is a synopsis of the general plot, and such slivers of excellence from Venkat and his workforce stand aside on this template movie enhanced with impeccable fan service.

In GOAT, Gandhi and his Particular Anti-Terrorism Squad consisting of Sunil (Prashanth), Ajay (Ajmal), Kalyan (Prabhu Deva), and their chief Nazeer (Jayaram) are seasoned brokers/mates. With out their rationales milked within the identify of patriotism, we see them as common office-goers with the standard workroom banter and why Gandhi’s spouse Anu (Sneha) isn’t impressed when work spills into their private house. Except GOAT is your very first motion thriller, you realize for positive that each one can actually not be good, and that is simply the calm earlier than the storm. So when tragedy lastly strikes, and the movie strikes from 2008 to the current, the pedal hits the steel, and GOAT turns right into a Chupacabra.

Sneha and Vijay in a nonetheless from ‘The Biggest of All Time’ 
| Picture Credit score:
Particular Association

Inarguably, the most effective facet of GOAT is its robust casting. Whereas some may really feel like glorified cameos, the dream workforce feels just like the closest we now have ever gotten to an Expendables. Not solely does the familiarity assist us spend money on the camaraderie and friendship the workforce shares, however the veterans deliver their A-game to the get together.

Regardless of the ensemble forged, it’s Vijay who shoulders the movie in twin roles as Gandhi and his son Jeevan. And Venkat, understanding his task properly, offers ample house for each characters to have their moments. They each care for his or her ménage and have their fair proportion of losses and a mission to finish. Then comes the dichotomy, and that’s the place each the filmmaker and his hero shine. As Gandhi, Vijay aces the function of a person with a whole lot of obligations that flip right into a burden and find yourself as grief — the actor Vijay takes centre-stage in a scene the place his character faces a significant loss. However it’s arguably Jeevan who steals the present (and possibly therefore the identify), and it’s a blast to see Vijay as a younger grownup, full with antics we now have lengthy beloved. With out getting into the spoiler zone, it’s secure to say that Vijay has pulled off a job he hardly ever succeeded in together with his previous makes an attempt.

It’s good when a filmmaker takes suggestions and reworks their product to ship a greater end-product. That’s how we obtained the Zack Snyder cut of Justice League and a extra recognisable titular star in Sonic the Hedgehog. Equally, after the de-ageing VFX criticism that GOAT’s promotional content got, it’s obvious that the makers returned to the drafting board to provide us a much better and extra credible rendition of a youthful Vijay. Provided that it performs a significant part within the grand scheme of issues, the makers took a precarious name that has labored wonders.

However just like how the movie makes use of expertise to masks a 50-year-old and present a younger grownup, it additionally tries to hide its shallow, easy, and painfully predictable plot with its star forged. If Vijay’s Leo reminded you of a number of movies, GOAT will do the identical; the Vijayakanth-led Rajadurai, helmed by Vijay’s father S. A. Chandrasekhar (during which the youthful character is known as Vijay, I child you not), is a movie that immediately involves thoughts. GOAT, at its core, is a fundamental revenge story, and when made to look previous the glitz — which you should at one level or the opposite — you might be sure to see the paint chipping away from its grand facade. The motion sequences aren’t thrilling, the songs and background scores are disappointing, and possibly the most important ache within the neck is the antagonist performed by Mohan. The character is bitterly underwritten, and the veteran can’t do a lot to salvage it. To not point out how all of the outstanding feminine characters are at all times damsels in misery.

Prabhu Deva, Vijay and Prashanth in a nonetheless from ‘The Biggest of All Time’ 
| Picture Credit score:
Particular Association

What works for GOAT majorly is the way it retains its stakes to a naked minimal and depends upon enjoying to the gallery. And boy, when the movie will get into fan service mode, there’s no stopping it. Proper from hat-tips to Vijay’s earlier hit movies, dance strikes, and even mannerisms and references to his friends and political innuendoes, GOAT is undoubtedly a pop-culture treasure trove full with its share of thrilling cameos and a wonderful homage to a late legend.

GOAT may allow you to down should you’re anticipating a globe-trotting espionage thriller, or only a genre-specific entertainer alongside the strains of Venkat’s Maanaadu. However if you wish to catch the celebration of one in every of our hottest stars doing the whole lot we love in his penultimate outing — together with remodeling from a GOAT to a Beast — then The Biggest of All Time is definitely worth the entry charge; even with all its drawbacks, “A lion is at all times a lion,” no?

The Biggest of All Time is presently operating in theatres