The Greatest of All Time (also marketed as GOAT) is a 2024 Indian Tamil-language spy action thriller film[7] directed by Venkat Prabhu and produced by AGS Entertainment.

The film stars Vijay in a dual role, alongside Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan, Jayaram, Ajmal Ameer, Vaibhav, Yogi Babu, Premgi Amaren, Sneha, Laila, Meenakshi Chaudhary and Abyukta Manikandan.

Filming locations included Chennai, Thailand, Hyderabad, Sri Lanka, Pondicherry, Thiruvananthapuram, Russia and United States.

The film has music composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja, cinematography handled by Siddhartha Nuni and editing by Venkat Raajen.

[a] In 2008, in Kenya, the Special Anti-Terrorism Squad (SATS), consisting of M. S. Gandhi and his teammates Sunil Thiagarajan, Kalyan Sundaram and Ajay Govindharaj, intercepts the terrorist Omar to extract uranium from him.

Nazeer calls Gandhi for an urgent meeting at the Chennai Metro station, stating that the information is so confidential it cannot be told over the phone.

Additionally, late actor Vijayakanth was featured in the film as a tribute with the use of artificial intelligence in a short appearance as M. S. Gandhi in disguise; voice was dubbed by K.

[12] Marking their collaboration after Theri (2016), Mersal (2017), and Bigil (2019), the production process was set to begin after the director completed his commitments for his debut Hindi film, Jawan (2023).

[15] On 24 December, Yuvan Shankar Raja, through X, posted a picture of himself and Vijay,[16] which was speculated to hint a reunion in the near future after Pudhiya Geethai (2003).

[26] In August 2023, the team left for Los Angeles to use visual effects scanning to create the look of one of Vijay's characters; this technique was previously used for Fan (2016).

[48] Laila,[49] Vaibhav,[50] Mohan,[51] Jayaram,[52] and Ajmal Ameer,[53] Yogi Babu,[54] VTV Ganesh,[55] Prabhu's frequent collaborators Premgi Amaren,[23] Aravind Akash,[56] and Ajay Raj were announced to play prominent roles.

[96] Shortly thereafter, Prabhu returned to Sri Lanka for additional shoots, albeit without Vijay,[97] that schedule was completed in early June.

[99] In March 2024, Venkat Prabhu confirmed that VFX and CGI works had begun, simultaneously with filming, in Chennai and Los Angeles.

The Times of India reported that ₹6 crore (US$690,000) was used on advanced de-aging technology for a ten-minute sequence featuring the younger character of Vijay.

[103] Initially, the film was planned to be released in June, coinciding with Vijay's 50th birthday; however, it was delayed due to the extensive post-production and VFX works.

[111] Official announcement posters for the third single, which released on 1 and 2 August, both received a negative response from fans and general audience, with them mostly being criticised for Vijay's de-aged look.

[139][140] Venkat Prabhu, during the promotions of the film, stated that a director's cut, which would feature around 20 minutes of deleted sequences, would be released on Netflix post-theatrical release;[141] after the theatrical version's streaming debut, he doubted a director's cut would be made as it would require extensive visual effects and editing work, but was hopeful the producers would allow it to be made.

[145] Kaushik Ramachandran of DT Next gave 3.5/5 stars and wrote "[...] Despite these minor issues, The Greatest Of All Time is undoubtedly worth watching and delivers the much-needed hit that Tamil cinema has been anticipating.

"[147] Goutham S of Pinkvilla gave 3/5 stars and wrote "Thalapathy Vijay’s The GOAT is undoubtedly a full-fledged action flick that is catered to his fans.

"[151] Anusha Sundar of OTTPlay gave 2.5/5 stars and wrote "There is no denial that The GOAT is a film that warrants a theatre watch given you go in as a fan, expecting less to chew and more to celebrate.

[152] Kirubhakar Purushothaman of News18 gave 2.5/5 stars and wrote "The actual mission here is of director Venkat Prabhu, and his objective is to keep bringing out those cheers and hoots every few minutes with some callbacks, easter eggs, and cameos.

"[153] Divya Nair of Rediff.com gave 2/5 stars and wrote "recommends that non-Vijay fans save their money and wait for GOAT to drop on Netflix.

"[154] Arun Antony of Deccan Chronicle gave 2/5 stars and wrote "The Greatest of All Time’aka Vijay’s The GOAT is nothing but passable and boring.

Venkat Prabhu who has consistently entertained the audience with funny storylines and quirky twists in his previous films, hits the wrong balls in this pointlessly cricket-based movie.

"[157] A critic of Sakshi Post rated 2/5 stars and wrote "Because of its weak action scenes and mediocre villain, "GOAT" may appear to audiences from other states as an ordinary to above-average entertainer.

"[158] Latha Srinivasan of Hindustan Times wrote "GOAT is a Venkat Prabhu treat for Thalapathy Vijay fans and the audience.

"[159] Gopinath Rajendran of The Hindu wrote "GOAT might let you down if you’re expecting a globe-trotting espionage thriller, or just a genre-specific entertainer along the lines of Venkat Prabhu’s Maanaadu.

[177] After the reservations of the film began in Tamil Nadu, Rohini Silver Screens, a multiplex in Koyambedu received complaints on social media platforms for charging high prices of ₹390 per ticket, with the food options being mandatory for the audiences, despite government restrictions.

[178][179] In the film's mid-credits scene, it was announced that a sequel titled The Greatest of All Time vs Original Gangster (shortened as GOAT vs OG) was in progress.

[180] However, the project's viability was questioned by media outlets and Vijay's fans due to him announcing his decision to quit acting to focus on his political career.