If you have enjoyed Ah Boys to Men 1 and 2, then you might find yourself anticipating for the sequel Ah Boys to Men 3: Frogmen! Guessing from the name, you probably have expected the similar theme revolving around military training. Well, yes.. But somewhat a little different this time.
The movie again started off with loads of action combined with intense gun-shooting and fighting scenes. And then, a flashback was played. What if.. in another parallel universe, instead of going through BMT, they were posted to one of Singapore’s toughest units – Naval Diving Unit as Frogmen? (I did get a little confused here). To make things simpler, just treat this sequel as an entirely new story.
But of course, some things never change. Ken Chow (Joshua Tan) still has that annoyingly childish and immature character which resulted in him experiencing the same fate – being ditched by his girlfriend once again. Aloysius Jin (Maxi Lim), also known as “Wayang King” is always the one being picked on because of his “accidental sabo-ing” to his poor cabin mates. And Lobang King (Wang Wei Liang), who lives up to his name, forever has something to share using his secretive methods.
And I’ll never fail to be tempted whenever he takes out that packet of Bak kwa.
Unfortunately, Noah Yap and Ridhwan were missing in ABTM3. Somehow, their natural funny expressions make the movie a lot more enjoyable. ABTM3 also introduces a new Hong Kong actor Wesley Wong, who plays ‘Black Dragon (Hei Long)”. He acts the role of a gang leader who was forced by his parents to move from Hong Kong to Singapore, which resulted in him having no choice but to be enlisted in army.
Together, the ah boys have to work together as a team to survive 40 weeks of hell in dirt, pee and shit, yes literally.
Among the whole lot, Wang Wei Liang’s acting left the audience with the deepest impression. Not only was he able to portray himself as a humorous friend, he played his emotions very well in some of the heart-wrenching scenes about his family.
On the other hand, I felt that the ad placements were overly aggressive to the extent that they were promoting their brand right at your face. Indirect marketing is always a useful tactic but it can get very annoying if used excessively. I just want to enjoy the show as it is.
Depending on which type of genre you like, you probably have a different preference. But I personally enjoyed ABTM 1 and 2 as some of the hilarious scenes were actually quite memorable. ABTM3 has taken a slightly different approach by developing the characters well and perhaps going into deeper detail about the training process in NDU. Jack Neo has also incorporated many positive moral values into the movie which I guess, is a good learning process as well.
I particularly like that phrase “wrongfully right, but also rightfully wrong”.
The movie is overall an enjoyable one. And I am looking forward to ABTM4 (if there is any). Hooyah!!!
Rating: 4.5/5 stars
