GOAT Review: A Movie Full of Action and Entertainment

GOAT takes off in Kenya in 2008, where we see a special anti-terrorist task force (SATS) recover stolen uranium from a group of terrorists led by Omar and Rajiv Menon (Mohan). Gandhi (Vijay) and his teammates, now friends Kalyan (Prabhu Deva), Sunil (Prashanth), Shaaam (Ajay) return to India victorious, but wreak havoc on the mission and come under fire from their boss Nazeer (Jayaram) for this. The group of men are close-knit and fond of partying and this is what gets Gandhi into trouble with his pregnant wife Anu (Sneha), who is quite suspicious of his activities.

Chaos unfolds

In order to keep Anu and his son Jeevan happy, Gandhi decides to take them to Thailand when he is assigned on a mission. And this is where things go horribly wrong. Gandhi and his family are attacked by a gang and Anu ends up in the hospital while Jeevan ends up kidnapped and murdered. Years later, we see that things have changed: Gandhi has an office job and is separated from Anu. But terror strikes again in the form of Sanjay. What does Gandhi do? Who is Sanjay? How does the SATS team save the day? Does Gandhi reunite with his family? Is it a happy ending?

Director Venkat Prabhu must be praised first and foremost for writing a story that travels the globe and has familiar sentiments, action, humour and drama intertwined with twists and lots of homages. He has given Thalapathy Vijay a story that is quite different from the Tamil star’s last few outings and it is refreshing. Vijay appears in two roles and the two characters are radically different and that is what makes it interesting. Venkat Prabhu has filled the film with lots of homages, starting from Captain Vijayanath, SPB and Ajith’s hook step Mankatha to his late cousin, Bhavatharini, and numerous Vijay films.

A tribute to a Vijay fan

The first half of GOAT is extremely engaging, and the director sets the stage for a superb intermission that takes you by surprise. There is plenty of family drama and high-octane action on various missions around the world before the film hits the intermission. After the intermission, the film kicks off with a showdown between Gandhi and Sanjay, and the director tries to maintain a fast pace. Throughout the film, Venkat Prabhu proves that he is a fan of Vijay and Kollywood (he makes references to Ghilli, Thirumalai, etc.) and the climax of the film definitely proves it. This is not to say that there are no gaps in the film, but Vijay’s excellent performance and the great cast make it easy to forgive him. The director makes the most of Vijay’s signature charm, sentiment, action, dance and humour, and this is sure to appeal to his fans and audiences.

Venkat Prabhu has always worked with his friends and family, and his cousin, Yuvan Shankar Raja, has composed the music for GOAT, just like his previous films. Yuvan has done a good job with the background music and the remix of an old Ilaiyarajaa song is quite moving. But the song from Bhavathirini (created with the use of AI), Chinna Chinna Kangal, is quite touching and emotional.

GOAT is a gift from Venkat Prabhu to Thalapathy Vijay fans and the audiences. This Vijay film is wholesome, fun and action-packed entertainment!