The third instalment of the Singaporean franchise, "Ah Boys To Men"; "Ah Boys To Men 3: Frogmen" by Jack Neo have collected a whopping SGD6.2 million at the Singaporean box office only within a short timeframe of 21 days after the movie was released in Singapore, surpassing the box office record set by the first "Ah Boys To Men" film back in 2012. To find out more on what makes the movie so relatable in the region, Cinema Online spoke with the cast that included; Wang Wei Liang, Maxi Lim, Joshua Tan, Tosh Zhang, Charlie Goh, Wesley Wong, Jaspers Lai, Bunz and Henry Low, and not to forget the man behind the scene, director Jack Neo.
Before the movie started its production, were all of the actors well prepared for the training and task they had to act out during the shoot? Jack Neo: Yes, all of them went for training along with the real 'frogmen' in order to get themselves in shape and even improve their stamina. At first they were brought to visit the training area of the frogmen. Then spontaneously, one of the frogmen trainers invited them for a short run. Well, I thought a short run should be fine for them, but they ended up finishing a 12km run. Tosh Zhang: Initially, my role in the movie was just for me to be a fierce and strict trainer, therefore I did not have to attend any training because I did not have to show my physical fitness during the shoot. But I ended up joining all of them for training anyway as I felt guilty. In the movie, there are several vulgar elements. Were you worried about what the older audience might think about the movie? Jack Neo: Well, the vulgarities we used in the movie is only for entertainment purposes and did not intend to offend anyone at all. We really hope that they will accept our film with an open mind and understand our intention, which is to entertain our audiences. In fact, some of the rude words that we use is already a norm, especially in our country. What are some of the biggest challenges faced during the production period? Jack Neo: I feel that it was the critics and doubts we got from Netizens through social media. When we told the trainers that we will be shooting our movie about Frogmen, they were shocked. When we announced on the Internet about our plans, Netizens had doubt and laughed at us saying we will never be able to do what the Frogmen are trained for. They looked down on us, so we decided show them what we are capable of and just did our best. And we finally did it. It was definitely a big push for us to prove them wrong. Are there any plans for another "Ah Boys To Men" sequel? Jack Neo: Basically we have not thought about it yet, as we are still focusing on the release of the current movie. I feel that if we were to make plans, it will definitely be after we have done everything there is to do for "Ah Boys To Men 3". "Ah Boys To Men 3: Frogmen" comes to cinemas in Malaysia on 19 March 2015. The film is now showing in Singapore.