Wow! It has been a while since I last saw a movie, hasn't it? Now that I did, it had to be during our family vacation in Davao City last week. We caught the showing of HSM3 Cinema 4 of the NCCC Mall on our last night there, Halloween night.
My kids love HSM1 so we have been watching that one and listening to its soundtrack on constant rotation as a family since it had first been shown on the Disney Channel. HSM2 did not make such a big impact on them musically, but they loved "What Time Is It?" from that one. Of course, they wanted to see HSM3 also.
So what can I say about HSM3? Like HSM2, it pretty much follows the same formula as the first HSM. The basic conflict is the same for Troy: basketball or theater? But this time, this conflict is on a higher level as it is about what he should take in college. Gabriela's problem is whether she should accept the Stanford's Honors Program and miss the Senior Prom and Spring Musicale? Sharpay is still on her quest to wrest the lead role away from Gabriela, as in the past 2 installments.
However, this movie is not really about the depth of the storyline, is it? It is about the songs and dances and as a movie musical, I think it succeeds 100%! From the very first basketball-themed song "Now or Never;" to the frenetic Sharpay fantasy "I Want It All;" to the romantically shot rooftop waltz "Can I Have This Dance;" to the prom-themed "A Night to Remember," the songs and dances are all excellent and catchy.
The youthful and energetic choreography is really fantastic to watch on the big screen. A highlight of sorts is "The Boys are Back" featuring Zac Efron and Corbin Bleu with memorable masculine choreography, reminiscent of "West Side Story." Zac Efron has his solo angst spot with "Scream," but this was done before in HSM2 as "Bet On It."
As for the cast, I can observe that Zac Efron has stepped up his acting for the big screen, although the others seemed to still be acting in a TV movie. Vanessa Hudgens is the same sweet presence as before. Ashley Tisdale still hams it up as the showy Sharpay, although her role seems to be lesser in this one than before.
The minor plots involving new actors in the cast Mark Prokop (as the new guy on the basketball team Jimmie "Rocket Man" Zara) and Jemma Mackenzie Brown (as the British Sharpay understudy Tiara Gold) did not seem not to work in my opinion, as they felt forced. The last song "High School Musical" and last sequence with curtain call was a bit awkward for me, but that is a minor quibble.
Overall, I enjoyed this movie as a good musical film. I liked the songs here better than the HSM2 songs. The music and choreography are the real stars of this one. Looking forward to some of them being nominated for Oscar Best Song when the time comes.
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