Ah Boys To Men 2
Jack Neo
The story: Having had a wake-up call in the first movie, Ah Boys To Men, Ken (Joshua Tan) is now an eager-beaver recruit out to prove that he can do well in Basic Military Training. This puts him on a collision course with the street-smart smoker Lobang (Wang Weiliang). When several of his section mates get pulled into a confrontation over I P Man’s (Noah Yap) girlfriend troubles, Ken decides to help them out.

Part 1, which was released last November, did not make a convincing argument for splitting the film into two. Nevertheless, the combination of the Jack Neo brand name, a subject every Singaporean could easily relate to, and the use of special effects to create scenes of Singapore under attack was a formula for success. It is now the highest-grossing local film of all time with $6.2 million in takings.
Back then, I had wished the film would explore more of the onscreen friendships and relationship dynamics as there was clearly a sense of camaraderie among the fresh faces playing the recruits. Happily, this is what writer-director Neo focuses on here.
Part 2 picks up right where the previous instalment ended – when Ken realises his selfish behaviour is hurting those around him. The point is made literally as his father (Richard Low) gets into an accident while rushing to the hospital after Ken collapses from self-induced heat stroke.
Ken’s transformation in itself turns out to be not particularly interesting. It turns on a melodramatic event and so, while the character of his father is meant to tug at our heartstrings, it mostly feels baldly manipulative every time Low appears on screen.
What is interesting is how Ken’s change of heart sets him against everyone else. Ken is now a competitor to the original eager beaver Aloysius (Maxi Lim). He also starts to get on Lobang’s nerves.
Wang Weiliang makes Lobang a most compelling character to watch. Be it Lobang in smooth-talking mode or exuding menace while bearing a grudge or efficiently executing a revenge plan, his naturalistic performance makes it all convincing.
Another character getting more screen time is I P Man. He is dumped by his girlfriend, and this sets off a chain of events which leads to a faeces-throwing attack and an all-out fight.
It is a sideplot that is overly exaggerated. But Neo’s inclusion of it is a smart move as break-ups during national service are almost a rite of passage in themselves and a topic that is, again, easy to relate to.
So Part 2 checks off two of the three factors that made Part 1 a hit.
As for special effects, they are also employed here but are less satisfying as they are not on the same scale. A food court is turned into a battlefield of miniature vehicles and weaponry and an exercise in the jungle is overrun by wild boars. Not exactly gripping stuff after seeing iconic landmarks get blown up in Part 1.
The films are meant to commemorate 45 years of national service and the sense of a national education message from the Ministry of Defence looms large.
Every single milestone in Basic Military Training has to be covered, from throwing a hand grenade to shooting at the rifle range, from digging a shell scrape for a field camp exercise to undergoing a 24km (or 24-click, in army parlance) route march.
It takes weeks for boys to go through Basic Military Training and emerge as men. A film about the process should feel much, much shorter.
(ST)