'The Greatest of All Time', the science fiction action film directed by Venkat Prabhu and produced by AGS Entertainment, was released in theatres today. In this section, we are going to review the latest box office release.
Plot:
Gandhi (Vijay) is multi-faceted, having donned a range of roles over the years. He is described as a consummate hostage negotiator, an expert field agent, and a super-talented spy at the Special Anti-Terrorist Squad (SATS). His 6-year-old son Jeevan dies during a botched-up mission in Bangkok. Fifteen years later, much to his shock, Gandhi bumps into Jeevan (Vijay, again) in Russia during an operation. After Jeevan, who is now 21, re-enters the life of Gandhi and his mother (played by Sneha), mysteriously, Gandhi's troubles multiply.
Performances:
Vijay is inadequate. Even in emotionally taxing moments, he fails to show Gandhi's agony. As Jeevan, he has been badly de-aged. Mohan, as the main antagonist, is a caricature. He comes across as a heavily bearded version of actor-lyricist Rakendu Mouli.
Prashanth and Prabhu Deva are difficult to sit through. The former is melodramatic/over-expressive, while the latter is hammy. Jayaram is good as Gandhi's boss. Vaibhav (as Jeevan's friend) is average. Yogi Babu is so-so. Sneha, as Gandhi's wife and Jeevan's mother, is watchable. Meenakshi Chaudhary as Srinidhi, Jeevan's love interest, has a meaningless screen presence. Her role had more meat in 'Guntur Kaaram'.
Technical aspects:
AGS Entertainment has admittedly produced the movie on a lavish scale. Shot in Thailand, Sri Lanka, Pondicherry, Thiruvananthapuram, Russia, the United States, and India, this is a globe-trotting film. The visuals are the only positive aspect. The richness shows. The cinematography handled by Siddhartha Nuni is a sure-fire hit in a film riddled with misses.
'Spark' and 'Masthie' are poorly staged. 'Ninnu Kanna Kanulae' is the only good song. 'Whistleaesko' is another Yuvan Shankar Raja dud. Venkat Raajen's editing is imperfect.
Post-Mortem:
For those who don't know, 'The GOAT' is the last but one film of Thalapathy Vijay. He has charged a fee of Rs 200 Cr, officially. His legion of fans deserved a film whose story lived up to the grandiose flavour of the title.
Director Venkat Prabhu is known for the famed twists in his stories. In the case of 'GOAT', though, the Greatest of All Twists is that there is no interesting twist. A linear narration only worsens the woes.
The action sequences were supposed to be breathtaking, considering this is a globe-trotting actioner. However, none of the chases/combats works. The climax action episode (where neither the good guys nor the bad guys have any weapon despite the high stakes) takes place in the backdrop of an IPL match where the cricket commentary is just random. There is a post-titles stretch that is a travesty. We mean, is this not one of the final movies of a Chief Minister aspirant?
Even though a father-son duo's destiny is involved and there is plenty of emotional trauma as an undercurrent, you never feel the pain of either character. The mother is reduced to a crybaby, the sister barely feels like she is a family member, the good guys' friends/colleagues emote like TV serial artists....
Closing Remarks:
'The GOAT' has no redeeming feature. At about 180 minutes, the film tests your patience with meaningless twists.
