Ah Boys to Men 4 (2017)

Plot summary (story synopsis): The quirky and lovable gang of everyman national serviceman, led by Alex (Tosh Zhang), are now veteran reservists, and are magically reborn as armoured infantrymen. They have to deal with conflicts with civilian life, and a new strict by-the-book female platoon commander Lieutenant Zhang (Apple Chan).

***

(Full disclosure: I have never been in any military unit and am an armchair general.)

The fourth in the fabulously successful (at least in Singapore) Ah Boys to Men franchise, ABTM 4 is surprisingly good considering the quality of the previous movies. (I watched ABTM 1 and 3. I skipped ABTM 2 because the first was so bad.)

The first few movies suffered from preachy "social commentary", overt military propaganda, overlong scenes, a skit-based approach to story structure, and heavy-handed melodrama. Oh, and annoying in-your-face product placement. These weaknesses still exist in ABTM 4 but are greatly reduced. The movie is actually watchable and rarely cringe inducing.

The social commentary arises naturally and believably - foreign employees being favoured over locals because the foreigners don't disrupt corporate operations by having to go back to camp for mobilisation or training. Also covered is the awkward situation of your boss in civilian life suddenly becoming your subordinate in the military.

The military propaganda is balanced, not shrinking from showing the limitations of Singapore's Bionix infantry fighting vehicles, and the officially sanctioned relaxation of requirements for reservists.

Pacing is improved. Only a few scenes - such as the first scene in the canteen - felt draggy. Even the product placement is improved. I counted maybe 50 sponsors at the end credits but noticed only about 10 in the movie.

Unfortunately the verisimilitude-busting retconning of the Ah Boys into a different military unit, continues. They were basic infantry in ABTM 1 and 2, elite naval divers in ABTM 3, and now armoured infantry in ABTM 4. The only reason being to showcase different branches of the military, story logic be damned. 

At least they are now veterans and no longer new conscripts (they were new conscripts in ABTM 1, and then again in ABTM 3).

When the first movie came out, I heard a few parents saying that they wanted to watch to see what national service would be like for their sons who would be conscripted soon. Which was strange because the Singapore Armed Forces has a short documentary series on YouTube called Every Singapore Son, that covers the national service experience well. 

I guess the movies do give a more behind-the-scenes look at life in the Singapore military, albeit fictionalised and sensationalised yet sanitised. On the other hand, you're not going to learn much about Singapore military doctrine.

Standard American (and presumably Singaporean too) armoured doctrine is for infantry and armour to support each other. Tankers are very much blind and lack situational awareness, buttoned up inside their vehicle.

Armoured infantry act as eyes and ears, dismounting to be an advance guard to warn against enemy infantry and keep them away from the tanks. The tanks can then use their superior firepower to fend off enemy tanks and infantry.

None of this is shown in the movie. Instead, the infantry are shown independently traipsing off to their own objective during an exercise. The only communication shown is between them and their vehicle commander. The tanks (Leopard MBTs) are never shown communicating with the Bionix infantry fighting vehicles.

But this is a concern only to military nuts. For the average Singaporean, what matters are the more daily life aspects of military service. In this ABTM 4 does succeed. Good use is made of army lingo and procedures. Enough is sprinkled around to be authentic and interesting, without being over explained. 

The movie's character development is however, lacking. Alex's moral failure and sudden redemption at the end, come out of nowhere. Ah Long had a promising start but his character arc halts in mid air and fizzles out.The whole conflict between Alex and Lieutenant Zhang also fizzles out and amounts to nothing in the end.

ABTM 4 is still a loose collection of unrelated vignettes and comedy skits. For example, the mass Lamborghini convoy at the end is kinda pointless (and actually sucks the air from the real ending), its awesomeness way out of proportion to the minor character point it makes. 

While flawed, ABTM does entertain. And Jack Neo's usual dose of sly social commentary doesn't grate so much this time.

Pop Aye (2017)

Plot summary (story synopsis): Middle-aged architect Thana (Thaneth Warakulnukroh) is experiencing a mid-life crisis. He is being sidelined at his architecture firm by younger architects and his signature project, a large shopping centre, is scheduled for demolition. His sex life with his wife Bo (Penpak Sirikul) isn't going well either. One day he stumbles across Pop Aye, an elephant from his childhood, and decides to buy him. Together they embark on a road trip through rural Thailand.   

***

Pop Aye is the first Singaporean film to be screened at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival. It didn't just screen, it also won the World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Screenwriting. Sundance implies indie/arthouse and Pop Aye certainly lives up to that. It's definitely not a commercial film.

Though writer/director Kirsten Tan is Singaporean, Pop Aye is set in Thailand and features Thai lead actors and mainly Thai dialog. So be prepared to read subtitles if you are not Thai, but hey, that's part of the arthouse experience.  

The Thai locations are the best part of the movie. You really feel the authenticity of the locations and get to see a Thailand that you don't see in tourist promos. The rural settings are especially striking in a gritty way.

However, the first two-thirds of the movie is a bit slow and disjointed. Kirsten Tan is following Jeff Nichols' Midnight Special style of withholding information to create audience interest. Unfortunately it doesn't work well in this case.

For half of the movie, we don't even know where Thana is going, or that he even has a destination. But instead of creating interest, it gives the movie the feeling of a lack of purpose. Why the elephant is named Pop Aye, and his earlier relationship with Thana, is later revealed. The problem is that no hints were given that any of this was a mystery, so any opportunity for suspense is wasted. 

Befitting an arthouse movie, the ending is hauntingly open ended. Some issues are resolved, and some are not. If only the first half of the movie was this good.