Seen on: October 25, 2008

The players: Director: Kenny Ortega, Writer: Peter Barsocchini, Cast: Zac Efron, Ashley Tisdale, Vanessa Hudgens, Lucas Grabeel, Corbin Bleu

Facts of interest: First "High School Musical" to hit the big screen.

The plot: It's senior year, and Troy and his gang are gearing up for graduation, prom and the college life. But graduating also means separating from friends and loved ones, which is not always easy to deal with.

Our thoughts: I am by no means a “High School Musical” expert, and yes, I do admit I haven’t even seen the first two films. I know I‘m not qualified to compare “High School Musical 3: Senior Year” to its predecessors, but here’s what I think about the latest installment in the popular series: it’s not disastrous, but it could’ve been a lot better.

Considering this is musical targeting the younger crowd, I guess I’m allowed to say I definitely had a hard time sitting through the whole thing without dozing off a couple of times. But don’t worry, I saw enough to make my case and reach a verdict. That said, I was not really blown away by the show director Kenny Ortega and screenwriter Peter Barsocchini put on.

This time around, Troy (Zac Efron) and his gang are about to graduate, and with only a few weeks left in the school year, they all have a bulk of important decisions to make. What college should they attend? What major should they pick? And how will they deal with the sudden separation from their friends?

Wrapping up high school and prepping for the next phase requires a lot of responsibility, and this film shows audiences how Troy and co. cope with all that pressure. While all this may indeed be very exciting for die-hard “High School Musical” fans to discover, I can’t imagine this being a thrilling experience for everyone who’s currently a high school senior or older.

Why? First of all, “HSM 3” is quite childish and often very cheesy, following a bunch of rather shallow youngsters who solve their problems by singing themselves out of them. I know this sounds awkward, but despite its certainly honest messages, the film lacks depth and originality. Plus, the show runs for 100 minutes, which considering the slow-moving plot, is far too long.

So what about the music? Most of the acts we get to see here are well choreographed, but the majority of dances and songs are too monotonous to light up the screen. The opening and closing acts work best and sound good, but the weak main story line quickly causes everything in between to settles into a boring routine. In other words, select segments are passable, while others are both unnecessary and annoying.

The cast did an overall decent job. Most of the people in this film know what they are doing, and although I haven’t seen them in the first two flick, I can only assume they’ve evolved over the past two years. Efron and co-star Vanessa Hudgens share a credible onscreen chemistry, playing two lovers who find it hard to go separate ways after graduation.

Freaky quote: “What makes you think we're getting diplomas?" – Zac Efron

The final word: As I already mentioned, fans will most definitely have a great time, while others may not necessarily dance and sing along. I expected the film to be a lot worse than it turned out, but then again, and to be honest, I was glad when the curtains fell. But that’s just me. I guess I don’t miss high school that much to get all enthused about this.

Article by Franck Tabouring