BOTTOM LINE
Not Even Close to GOAT
RATING
2.25/5
CENSOR
U/A, 2h 45m
What Is the Film About?
Vijay works as a special officer in the Anti-Terrorist Squad, and due to the nature of his job, he loses his five-year-old son (young Vijay). However, years later, his son returns as a teenager with a mysterious motive. The core story of GOAT revolves around the boy’s intent and how it affects his father and his friends, who are also part of a secret agency.
Performances
Vijay plays two roles in GOAT: the older Vijay, which suits his current age, and a young teen Vijay, who is de-aged using VFX technology. While the older version of the star is naturally fit, the younger version is impressive as well, though it initially takes a while to get used to. The best part is his performance and he truly owns the character, which shows on screen. As for the styling, both versions of Vijay have slightly weird hairstyles, though they aren’t outright bad.
There are two female characters in the film for both versions of Vijay—Sneha and Meenakshi Chaudhary. However, both have negligible character development and nothing noteworthy to mention.
Analysis
GOAT is written and directed by Venkat Prabhu, who previously directed Naga Chaitanya’s Custody.
The first half of GOAT is mediocre and feels unnecessarily lengthy. The film starts with an action sequence that is just about decent and quickly hits all the cinematic template checkboxes, including cringe comedy and repetitive family scenes.
The director takes a long time to reach the pre-interval point, where a twist involving young Vijay is introduced. While a couple of emotional scenes with Vijay work well, the rest of the film remains ordinary and unexciting. However, the twist at the interval raises hope for a more engaging second half.
The second half begins with young Vijay revealing his backstory, but the negative track played by Mohan is extremely uninteresting. The character development lacks even minimal writing. However, the narrative is propelled by young Vijay’s menace and body language.
Again, it is the director who fails to generate the emotions, even though action takes first place. It looks so silly when a friend’s murder happens and, within a second, a duet begins. This happens not once but twice, and even a song with Vijay and Trisha is placed after an emotional death scene.
The director and writing team also neglect crucial episodes, such as father Vijay discovering that young Vijay is behind many of the events. The revelation is both simple and dull.
Though the climax is lengthy due to the cricket stadium setting, Dhoni’s appearance provides a slight pass.
Overall, GOAT is a super-lengthy and only okayish watch, with a barely passable first half and a slightly better second half, falling far short of its title, “Greatest of All Time.
Performances by Others Actors
GOAT features several well-known and senior supporting cast members, including Prabhu Deva, Prashanth, Ajmal Ameer, Laila, Yogi Babu, Jayaram, and others. They all perform their roles without complaint, but none of them stand out. This isn’t their fault, as their roles are rather ordinary.
Music and Other Departments?
Yuvan Shankar Raja composed the music, but the songs are outright forgettable. Strangely, he didn’t even make up for it with the background score. The BGM either feels absent or outdated for most of the film. At no point does it feel like a background score suited for a star hero like Vijay, making this a major letdown.
The cinematography by Siddhartha Nuni is alright. Visually, GOAT looks like another ordinary film and lacks exciting visual appeal. The editing by Venkat Raajen is far from satisfactory. The film is filled with several unnecessary lengthy scenes and is excessively long for a simple story like GOAT. This is a significant misjudgment on the part of the editor.
Highlights?
Vijay’s screen presence
A couple of emotional scenes from Vijay
Few engaging blocks in the second half
Drawbacks?
Ordinary first half
Too lengthy
Poor BGM and songs
Average action sequences
Lack of emotional depth despite potential
Did I Enjoy It?
Not much
Will You Recommend It?
Only if you’re a die-hard Vijay fan and don’t mind a long, mediocre film.
The GOAT (2024) Tamil Movie Review by M9
Final Report:
After a barely watchable first half, the second half offers a few engaging blocks, but overall, the film lacks a convincing core plot. Moreover, the characterization of young Vijay is difficult for some fans to accept due to his character behavior. Yuvan’s background score is poor and action sequences are just alright, and the movie is unnecessarily long. While the two versions of Vijay make the film somewhat more watchable, it only helps to a limited extent.
First Half Report:
Plot- or presentation-wise until the pre-interval, there aren’t any exciting moments or action sequences that provide a high. Vijay is terrific in a couple of emotional scenes. The interval twist is interesting and raises the bar for the second half.
GOAT starts with an action sequence in Kenya and quickly shifts to Delhi, followed by a song featuring Vijay’s energetic dances alongside Prabhu Deva. Stay tuned for the first half report.
Vijay’s film, written and directed by Venkat Prabhu, who delivered the blockbuster Maanaadu and the disastrous Custody with Naga Chaitanya, is now ready with his big star film GOAT (The Greatest of All Time). This film comes at a crucial juncture for Vijay as he steps into politics, and it will be interesting to see how director Venkat Prabhu has made the best use of this significant opportunity.
Cast: Thalapathy Vijay, Prashanth, Prabhudeva, Mohan, Jayaram, Sneha, Laila, Ajmal Amir, Meenakshi Chaudhary, Parvati Nair, Vaibhav, Yogi Babu, Premgi Amaren, Yugendran Vasudevan and Akilan.
Written & Directed by Venkat Prabhu
Music : Yuvan Shankar Raja
Director of Photography : Siddhartha Nuni
Editor : Venkat Raajen
Banner : AGS Entertainment (P) Ltd
Producers : Kalpathi S Aghoram, Kalpathi S Ganesh, Kalpathi S Suresh
U.S. Distributor: Alerion (USA), Hamsini Entertainment Ltd
