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

GOAT Review: 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 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.

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.