The Greatest of All Time (The GOAT) is a time travel action thriller written and directed by Venkat Prabhu, and starring actor Vijay in the lead. The GOAT trailer released on August 17, 2024 in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi languages with slight variations.
First impression report (FIR) of The Greatest of All Time trailer:
Story
The Greatest of All Time story has long been suspected to have an element of time travel in it. Though not explicitly confirmed, The GOAT trailer does reveal hints of Vijay reliving his younger days, or the younger Vijay travelling back in time to recreate his father’s footsteps.
The GOAT is known to be based on the 2004 Moscow metro bombing, and while it was known that The Greatest of All Time shooting did take place in Russia, The GOAT trailer showcases that actor Mohan’s villain character might be the similar to the real life suicide bomber who detonated in a crowded subway.
De-ageing by Lola VFX
It is a widely known fact about The Greatest of All Time that lead actor Vijay plays dual roles of father and son in the movie. The GOAT trailer has officially confirmed the same. It is also equally known that Vijay’s younger version is achieved through de-ageing by Lola VFX, Hollywood’s most sought after visual effects company for the de-aging technique.
Top to Bottom: 30 year old Chris Evans, 71 year old Michael Douglas, 51 year old Vijay de-aged by Lola VFX in 2011, 2015 and 2024 respectively. The Greatest of All Time Vijay has been de-aged in 3D, with double-action.
The de-aged Vijay in The Greatest of All Time trailer is definitely much better than what one saw in the initial GOAT posters and the SPARK song. Director Venkat Prabhu at The GOAT trailer launch presser, affirmed that this was a conscious decision after taking the negative feedback into account.
Mission: Impossible
The Greatest of All Time trailer definitely seems to be paying homage to Tom Cruise starrer Hollywood franchise Mission: Impossible (MI). MI- Ghost Protocol (2011), the fourth and possibly a defining film in the Mission Impossible franchise, takes lead character Ethan Hunt to Dubai in search of nuclear launch codes. In one scene, popularly known as the Burj Khalifa stunt, Tom Cruise physically scales the 2,722 ft skyscraper, when he has to go from floor 123 to floor 130 ditching the elevator.
Vijay is seen doing something similar in The GOAT trailer. Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018) aka MI6 had another famous scene, where Tom Cruise HALO (High Altitude Low Opening) jumps from a plane, and deploys a parachute right above a high rise building in Paris. In The Greatest of All Time, Vijay is seen using the HALO technique, as in his parachute opens at a low altitude after free-falling.
The Greatest of All Time trailer in Telugu and Hindi, ends with Vijay humming the Mission Impossible theme tune.
MS Dhoni
The GOAT trailer reveals that an imment bomb blast during a Chennai Super Kings (CSK) match, part of the film’s plot. Director Venkat Prabhu has revealed that CSK references in the movie, came from both him and the film’s producer being being fans of the Indian Premiere League team.
This is even evident in one of the dialogues of the younger Vijay, which seems to mimick a famous 2016 interaction between a press reporter, and Chennai Super Kings captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (image below).
Final Word
A high budget production, with slick action, heavy visual effects, and good score (by Yuvan Shankar Raja) is what comes across as the first impression of The Greatest of All Time. In tune with The GOAT being Vijay’s 68th movie, Vijay’s Special Anti-Terrorist Squad character is shown in the film for completing ’68 international missions’. The cracker of a trailer has amped expectations for sure.
The Greatest of All Time is a production venture of AGS Entertainment, and releases in theaters on September 5, 2024. The movie also stars Prabhu Deva, Prashanth, Sneha, Laila, Meenakshi Chaudhary, Mohan, Jayaram, Vaibhav, Premgi, YG Mahendran, among others.
