As a fan, High School Musical 3: Senior Year was extremely satisfactory. It was fun, entertaining, and provided closure for the characters we've been following for three years. However, from a critical perspective, we noticed some problems; but, we're going to focus on the good first.
The movie opens with a very sweaty Zac Efron close-up - something that made all the girls in the theater squeal with delight! - as Troy is in the middle of a championship basketball game. Of course, the Wildcats win. The rest of the movie, is focused on the East High students focusing on their future while prom, graduation, and the spring musical are on the horizon.
Gabriella (Vanessa Hudgens) is keeping an early acceptance/orientation invitation to Stanford a secret from Troy, who is caught between persuing basketball and performing arts (he is being considered for a Julliard scholorship). Sharpay (Ashley Tisdale), Ryan (Lucas Grabeel), and Kelsi (Olesya Rulin) are also being considered for the scholarship. And leave it to Sharpay to do whatever it takes to earn the scholarship - including stealing center stage from Gabriella once again and having her brother court Kelsi in order to obtain her "Troy and Gabriella" music.
The film is full of energry. The bigger budget of the theatrical release is immediately noticed. The wardrobe is amazing, the choreography is unbelievable, and the songs are inspiring. "I Want It All" is a true Broadway musical. "Now or Never" and "High School Musical" are among the best songs from all three movies, with "Scream" and "Walk Away" easily becoming the best solos from the series.
Zac Efron has evolved so much since the first movie. "Scream" showcases his acting abilities, and he has proved to have learned the most professionally from this amazing experience. Ashley Tisdale, who was praised for her performance in High School Musical 2, is excellent once again, providing some comic relief. Vanessa Hudgens proves that her talent peaked with the second movie, as her performance is not as believable or moving as it was in the previous installment. Lucas Grabeel proves to still be the most talented of the cast, with the other castmembers doing the best they can with the material provided. The newcomers, Jemma McKenzie Brown, Matt Prokop, and Justin Martin are not welcomed with trumpets. Either they weren't able to showcase their talent properly, or they had no talent to start with.
In short, this movie surpasses High School Musical 2 and is equal, if not better than, High School Musical. It is a incredibly special way to say goodbye to these character, whom we might never see again. The ending scene, which involves the famous jumping poses following graduation, made us emotional! It was so sad to watch this movie come to such closure.
However, in a critic's eye, there are a few areas in which the film lacks. We can start with the script. High School Musical 3: Senior Year is not as well-written as the previous two films, despite all three being penned by Peter Barsocchini. The plot is too scattered, with several going on at once: Troy and Gabriella saying goodbye, Troy's future, Gabriella's future, prom, graduation, the spring musical, the competition for the Julliard scholarship, Sharpay plotting, Ryan courting Kelsi, Chad and Troy growing apart, Chad and Taylor advancing their relationship, and more! With so much going on, the movie has no strong central plot other than senior year in high school, which, to be fair, might be what Barsocchini intended to do.
However, the problems continue with underused characters and plot lines. Taylor (Monique Coleman) had little importance in this movie. After her part was drastically reduced in the second film, we had hoped she would have a bigger part in this film. That hope was not fulfilled. Even Sharpay seemed to have a smaller part! And her battle with Tiara, a new sophomore character, could have been so much better. However, despite her reduced role and the fact that she's the "villain" in all three movies, we still empathize for Sharpay, who is publically embarrassed when Jimmie (Prokop) forces her off stage during the musical and Tiara (McKenzie Brown) takes over her role. Corbin Bleu, whose side storyline of growing apart from Troy could have been expanded, would also seem underused if it weren't for "The Boys Are Back".
These problems, however, cannot compare to the movie's good aspects. Like we said, this could very well be the best High School Musical film! And now time to give it a score... In fact, to mark the end of a fantastic, entertaining, heartwarming film series, we'll score all three!
- High School Musical: 9.7
- High School Musical 2: 9.2
- High School Musical 3: 9.75
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