The Greatest of All Time (GOAT) featuring Tamil star Vijay, directed by Venkat Prabhu and produced by Kalpathi S. Aghoram under AGS Entertainment, hit the theatres today. Touted as Vijay’s penultimate movie before his political entry, GOAT had high expectations with its tagline, “A Venkat Prabhu’s Hero.” However, the film is receiving mixed reviews.
Story
The plot follows Gandhi (Vijay), a member of the Special Anti-Terrorist Squad (SATS), whose son Jeevan (also played by Vijay) is kidnapped during a mission in Pattaya, Thailand. Local police claim Jeevan died in a car accident along with the kidnappers. The film explores how this impacts Gandhi’s personal and professional life, and whether Jeevan truly died forms the crux of the story.
Performances
Vijay excels in his dual role as both Gandhi and Jeevan. His comedy, emotional scenes, and dance performance, particularly with Trisha in a special number, were praised. Sneha delivers a heartfelt performance as a grieving mother, and Yogi Babu steals the show in the second half as ‘Diamond Babu’. Cameos from Trisha and Sivakarthikeyan, especially in the climax, received loud applause. However, Meenakshi Chaudhary’s role is poorly written and disappointing.
Yuvan Shankar Raja’s music and background score, key to Venkat Prabhu films, failed to elevate the film. Songs were underwhelming, and the background score was inconsistent. Venkat Raajen’s editing also fell short, with a dragging climax that could have been trimmed. Siddhartha Nuni’s cinematography and Vijay’s de-aged look were well done, though. The much-hyped CSK and MS Dhoni references during the climax felt overdone, catering mainly to CSK fans.
Positives
- Vijay’s Performance
- Yogi Babu’s Comedy
- First Half
- Predictable yet interesting twists
Negatives
- Disappointing Music and Background Score
- Poor Editing
- Over-the-top, dragged climax
GOAT Movie Analysis
Venkat Prabhu succeeded in the first half with fun sequences and a solid twist before the interval. However, the second half lacks the same punch. The father-son cat-and-mouse sequences were not well executed but were salvaged by Vijay’s performance. The climax, heavily reliant on CSK and MS Dhoni references, felt stretched and disconnected, appealing only to hardcore fans.
Despite the stardom of Vijay, a better background score from Yuvan Shankar Raja could have elevated the movie. Songs like SPARK were unnecessary and disrupted the film’s flow. Overall, GOAT is a decent one-time watch, more likely to succeed with Tamil audiences due to Vijay’s stardom and the CSK factor. However, in Telugu, it may struggle after the opening weekend.
GOAT Final Review: GOAT is not the greatest, it’s an OK movie.
Bottom Line: GOAT movie review – A decent first half, but dragged climax makes it an average watch.
GOAT movie rating: 2.5/5
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