Ah Boys to Men 3: Frogmen

Ratings: 7.8/10

Film Class: B

Genre: Comedy Drama

I hate to admit this but Ah Boys to Men 3: Frogmen belongs to the top tier of my local movies list. The first installment was overhyped by the supposedly "state-of-the-art" CG, which totally flopped (Director Jack Neo was ripped off paying at least a  million for that fake-looking early 21st century noobish CG crap), as for the second I skipped it cos I  didn't want to be part of the hype. It was no longer about the CG but more on the boy leads.

Ah Boys to Men 3: Frogmen wasn't 1st class, it was draggy at times, so much so it felt like a 3-hr movie and the acting was rather amateurish, despite several of the cast reprising their roles (shouldn't their acting have improved!?). I don't wanna slam our local talents too much, but I was unable to drown myself in their sorrows because those scenes were just not convincing enough.

Lotsa product placement scenes as well, and there was even a blatant in your face, or more accurately put, on your face scene promoting a Nivea facial product. Though it was quite out of place at times, it was rather cute, something you won't see often in today's cinema. They were like short comical adverts to tickle both the engrossed, and the dozing-off-ers.

4 main languages were spoken, English, Mandarin, Hokkien and Cantonese. There were also shortbursts of  Malay and Tamil because of a particular scene, promoting our very own Breadtalk and Toastbox. Some of the characteristic trademarks of Jack Neo's movies. His movies are truly "Singaporean", and though I'm not a fan, I have to give him props for that. The jokes never fail to lower the class of his movies but somehow has a relatable flair to them.

The first movie had a rather accurate depiction of what we (NS men) went through during our days in the army. The songs, the terminologies used, the way we were treated, the training we went through were nostalgically spot on. The feel was there. But not so much the dramatization of the conflicts because at least for me during my active service, we were like a band of brothers who went through thick and thin together. We didn't have time or energy to "hate", whatever time or energy we had we channelled to our training.

Thought I bring this up because I wasn't in the navy, so wouldn't be able to vouch for the accuracy of what was portrayed. However, based on what I've seen and felt in the first movie, I dare say it should be fairly accurate as well.

Ah Boys to Men 3: Frogmen, is about an alternate reality where the boys were enrolled in the naval diving unit (NDU) instead of the infantry unit. The movie features a few protagonists.... We have Ken, the boy with lotsa potential but would rather "chao geng" (slack around) because of a recent break-up with his girlfriend; Lobang, a boy who is a Singapore Ah Beng (gangster) who's very resourceful and glib-tongued; Aloysius, Wayang King, who's the most learned, mild mannered young chap who unknowingly steps on everyone's toes for being too gung ho; and a new addition Hei Long, a triad boss in Hong Kong forced to return to Singapore to serve the nation.  Each character had their own unique steoreotypical chracteristics which many have heard of prevalent in any soldier batch, be it in the army, or navy. And the "best" part is that you get to see what the much talked about Hell Week really is like. An eye-opener indeed. Muah Chees never felt tastier.

*warning major spoilers ahead* There were several puke-blood moments for me. One was when the statue of a frog came to life and flew over the sea (yeah, that was the lamest moment for me), and the other was the fight scene between Wayang King and Hei Long. But it was also that scene which made me realise how good an actor Hei Long was.

Acting wise, I was only impressed twice. One was where Lobang's mother came back to beat his sister up demanding for money, and the other was the fight scene mentioned above. Both his sister and mother shined during whatever screentime they were given. As for Hei Long when he got a beating and was tearing remorsefully on the floor, I... felt for him...

The main reason why I'm giving this movie such a high rating despite all my seemingly negative comments is because it has been a long while since I laughed so hard. I laughed so hard during one scene (the food delivery scene) that I actually teared. Laughing Out Loud lames*** funny.

The after credits scenes and bloopers were hilarious as well, but it ended too abruptly. Audiences had to walk out of the cinema in awkward silence, drained from the what-felt like a 3-hr long movie. They took too long to reach the climax, the highly anticipated Hell Week, too long a build up, too short the "torture"...  

Soundtrack was original and catchy. Rap-styled cool-dude-like with lyrics which makes sense even though they might not always rhyme that well.

Ah Boys to Men 3: Frogmen promises a muster of laughing out loud jokes and a buffet of eye-candies to chow on. An intimate account of the past, present and future of a typical Singaporean boy, or man. It is indeed a movie worth cheering for. Hoo-Yah!