GOOD, BUT NOT THE GREAT-EST!

CINEMA OF THE WEEK 

GOOD, BUT NOT THE GREAT-EST! 

The Greatest Of All Time (Action/Thriller) ★★★ Cast: Vijay, Prashanth, Prabhudeva, Mohan, Sneha, Laila, Jayaram, Meenakshi Chaudhary, Vaibhav Direction: Venkat Prabhu Duration: 3 hour 3 minutes Language: Tamil (U/A) 

M S Gandhi (Vijay) a former Special Anti-Terrorist Squad (SATS) officer, embarks on a mission that squares back to his blood, threatening his family life. In the 2007 film ‘Azhagiya Tamil Magan’, Vijay was pitted against his look-alike. Seventeen years later, it’s the same, but now it’s Thalapathy vs Ilaya Thalapathy. A new version for his fans. 

M S Gandhi (Vijay), a highly skilled agent of the Special AntiTerrorist Squad (SATS) is the typical ‘family man’, who hides his occupation from his wife (Sneha). The couple, parents to a boy (Jeevan), are expecting their second child. Gandhi’s SATS team consists of Sunil Thiagarajan (Prashanth), Kalyan Sundaram (Prabhudeva), Ajay (Ajmal Ameer) and their boss Nazeer (Jayaram). On a workcation to Thailand, an unpleasant incident changes his life. Seventeen years on, Gandhi is now an immigration officer, taking care of his daughter who lives with his estranged wife. On a work trip to Russia, he accidentally meets his longlost son Jeevan (a de-aged Vijay). And thus begins a cat-and-mouse game. 

With action and emotional sequences, the first half sets the stage for an interesting interval block, which supposedly packs a punch. The second half has plenty of twists, but the climax— a fanpleaser set during the CSK live match — is a bit of a drag. The story line follows a familiar template, and the narrative, unfortunately, is very easy to foresee. The overall length is a concern, too. The action sequences are just about average, though the face-offs between young and old Vijay are engaging. With a conventional story, the director capitalises on Vijay’s trademark charm. With de-aging technology, he gets to do it twice as well! Vijay pulls off both roles with ease. 

His villainous side is compelling. With Vijaykant as a front, Vijay also sends a ‘political message.’ Mohan as Rajiv Menon, a former SATS officer gone rogue, does a great job as a bad boy, but between the two Vijays, his character gets lost. Prashanth, Prabhudeva, Sneha, Jayram, Meenakshi Chowdary add to Vijay’s charm. Yo gi Babu and Premji bring comic relief, with the former scoring big in the Gandhi-Nehru bit. The de-aging technology has been crafted well, contrary to the comments after the release of the trailer. A few throwback gestures and dialogues from a few of Vijay and Venkat Prabhu’s films are blended naturally without going overboard. 

Yuvan Shankar Raja scores well in action and elevation sequences, but the songs, including the special number with Trisha, are a big letdown. Siddharth Nuni’s cinematography, too, is just about average. Endless fan moments, all mass and no solid substance makes it an average watch. — Ronak Kotecha To review any movie and check show timings visit etimes.in