Jack Neo has really conquered another milestone with the Ah Boys to Men (ABTM) series. It's great. In fact, I think these 2 parts deserve being the Top 2 Grossing Local movies of all time.
I did not catch the ABTM1 in the cinema, largely because of 2 reasons. One, I didn't quite expect much from a 'Army' movie, especially when it was to coincide with NS45 celebrations, and I thought it would be yet another usual comedy with local-flavoured jokes. Two, I couldn't really find people to watch with, and I thought it's still alright because it would be shown during CNY some 2 years later.
But I kept reading about the hype in newspapers during the run of ABTM1. That was when I thought it's really unusual. Jack Neo's movies have a history of being bashed by local media, with some movies getting an embarrassing 1-star or half-star ratings. (Oops sorry, shouldn't have 's' in ratings.) Amidst the prime year-end blockbuster scrambles, ABTM1 managed to pull away from the crowd and amassed more than S$6 million, breaking an almost 2-decade-old record.
In the run-up to ABTM2, the hype was strong again, and the box office record was once again broken in record time, within about 2 weeks. It became much of a talking point, and induced me to watch ABTM1 online. By the time I watched ABTM2 just now in the cinema, it had already squeezed into our Top 10 Grossing movies of all time for about a week now.
Jack Neo makes popular movies. The formula is more-or-less standard: Write a local plot that appeals to the general masses; fit in current local jokes; put in some political mockery; and also an underlying story that might jerk a teardrop or two. In ABTM, he climbed another notch, by making it a must-watch by all Singaporeans regardless of race. Previously, his movies were largely in Chinese or Chinese Dialect, but in ABTM, it was almost half in Singlish, which would be clearly understood by anyone who calls himself a Singaporean. It was a winning plot too-- ALL Ah Boys of Singapore would relate to the experiences, and the Ah Girls will also be pretty interested to know what exactly goes on in secretive Pulau Tekong.
Recently, I tend to pay a little more attention on the cinematography in movies, probably because I've tried making a few videos before. It wasn't difficult to notice that in ABTM, Jack Neo had added a large number of scenes shot from above. I really, really loved all these top shots, because they portrayed a totally new perspective of our country, including the tightly-controlled Pulau Tekong. Scenes of trainings, fightings and even the emotional last part, included these top shots, and these are parts of the reasons why I enjoyed the movie(s) so much.
I guess this movie may just become one of the most comprehensive films ever made to document the life of a BMT recruit. (I had not watched Army Daze/新兵小传 though!) To people like me, it was truly nostalgic to relive the happy BMT days, the best period in my NS cycle. To people who have yet enlisted, it was truly a preview of what they could expect, though it would also mean the lack of a surprise for that matter. In any case, aside from all the subtle National Education messages, I enjoyed watching the portrayals of the strong Brotherhood between the characters, and the love between the family members.
With such huge success from ABTM, I'm not sure if Jack Neo can ever equal this feat again. Having a plot that appeals to everybody in the country across races is not easy. ABTM3 might potentially pull off yet another blockbuster victory, but I'm not so sure what other better ideas could there be in another Army-inspired story.
For now, Congratulations Jack Neo, and thank you for a great movie!
人生是黑白的.
1:42 AM <3
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