Movie Review: High School Musical 3: Senior Year (2008)

High School Musical 3: Senior Year, is the last installment in the High School Musical movie series. The only difference, is that this time, High School Musical gets a theatrical release. The first two High School Musical movies aired on the Disney Channel, so they had the cliches that a TV movie have. The first problem was the writing, the dialogue could've been improved on. The other issue with the first two was pace, there really isn't a lot of moving around in the first two HSM movies. Most of the scenes take place within the same location, not a bad thing, but the story doesn't have variety in settings. The good news is this: HSM 3 doesn't do any of those things, because it is a feature film. Now, when I first heard about this movie coming out years ago on television, I didn't know if it would work. HSM was a television franchise/success, so giving it a feature movie on the big screen might not work out. The actors and actresses are trained for the tube, not to be in movies that people have to leave their houses and go see. Anyway, HSM 3: Senior Year explores the lives of the main cast as they prepare (and graduate) from high school.  Troy (Zach Efron), doesn't want to leave Gabriella (Vanessa Hudgens). Sharpay (Ashley Tishdale), finds conflict with another new student. What works really well about this movie is the music. It's obvious that people often watched the first films to listen to the talented music, those were alright, but this is the best music in the whole series. Every number I liked in different ways, it really offered us an insight into the lives of these kids. Stress alert people. The actress who really applied all their effort to this role was Ashley Tishdale. I liked her role as Sharpay because she plays the typical "Popular Blonde" at the High School. Is there a weak point? Not really, the good singing, good acting, and most of all the heart, is what makes this film really enjoyable. This movie delves way deeper into emotions than the first films did. Not dissing the first installments, but this one is what the franchise is all about. Great movie. Three Stars.