Disney had been hyping this one up for a while. Ever since the first mediocre installment of this cash cow for Disney took the under 18 crowd in America by storm, you knew two things: a.) A sequel was inevitable and b.) It was going to be hyped up to the point where it could not live up to it.
The sequel came, and the result was nothing that could even sniff the hype that preceded it.
I won't go into the plot or story, since 95% of the other reviews for this title will go into that. I will just point out what I didn't like.
First off, the first half of this movie was nothing but pure fanservice. It's as if the writers and directors went conservative and thought "What would the fans want" rather than taking a risk and trying to think "What do WE want?". The playing it safe method that was taken hurt the film in the first half of the movie. The plot line was looking for a path to take and couldn't take one. What was this movie trying to be? That is what I thought the first half of this movie. I had a hard time paying attention.
Not saying that the second half was much better. It was slightly better than the forgettable and boring first half, but not by much. I was hoping for some kind of plot twist, misdirection, something to take the plot off the linear, pointed-like-a-laser direction it was in. But instead, the ending was predictable. You could have called the ending ever since seeing the previews for this movie on Disney a month or two ago. Speaking of the ending, very anticlamatic. A movie that was as forgettable as it was before the ending better have some kind of ending of epic proportions, but the ending was as disappointing as the rest of the movie.
Now, I know the point of a musical is the music, and not the plot. Unfortunately for this musical, the music was just as bad as the plot.
The songs were forgettable and rather generic. The music was definitely not as good as the first installment. And come on choreographers, the dancing was as generic and cookie cutter as it gets. Just about every song had the same choreography: A "triangle" formation with the movie's main stars in the front. It got old after a while. You want to be the Grease of the 21st century? Take a page from them: a.) Dancing is not necessary in every song and b.) Mix up the dancing a bit! Don't make the choreography the same for every song with minor modifications! Get creative!
So far this review has been nothing but complaints, but the one shining point of the film: Ashley Tisdale's role as Sharpay. She stole the show and this talent goldmine should be getting some major roles in the future. The other acting performances in this movie were above average(Ryan, Chad, Kelsi), mediocre(Troy, Taylor) and bad(Gabriella), but Sharpay was excellent. The country club manager Mr. Fulton was excellent too.
If you are a die hard High School Musical fan, you probably had your mind set before seeing this that this movie would be OMG AWESOME! And because this movie had a lot of fanservice, it probably lived up to your expectations. But someone like me, who thought the first one was mediocre and went in with a neutral mind, it didn't live up to the massive hype I have been exposed to all summer.
Pros
+ Ashley Tisdale of Sharpay = EXCELLENT + Higher production values than the first one + You are the music in me = Good song + Overall plot message teaches a good lesson to people under 18
Cons
* 1/2
The sequel came, and the result was nothing that could even sniff the hype that preceded it.
I won't go into the plot or story, since 95% of the other reviews for this title will go into that. I will just point out what I didn't like.
First off, the first half of this movie was nothing but pure fanservice. It's as if the writers and directors went conservative and thought "What would the fans want" rather than taking a risk and trying to think "What do WE want?". The playing it safe method that was taken hurt the film in the first half of the movie. The plot line was looking for a path to take and couldn't take one. What was this movie trying to be? That is what I thought the first half of this movie. I had a hard time paying attention.
Not saying that the second half was much better. It was slightly better than the forgettable and boring first half, but not by much. I was hoping for some kind of plot twist, misdirection, something to take the plot off the linear, pointed-like-a-laser direction it was in. But instead, the ending was predictable. You could have called the ending ever since seeing the previews for this movie on Disney a month or two ago. Speaking of the ending, very anticlamatic. A movie that was as forgettable as it was before the ending better have some kind of ending of epic proportions, but the ending was as disappointing as the rest of the movie.
Now, I know the point of a musical is the music, and not the plot. Unfortunately for this musical, the music was just as bad as the plot.
The songs were forgettable and rather generic. The music was definitely not as good as the first installment. And come on choreographers, the dancing was as generic and cookie cutter as it gets. Just about every song had the same choreography: A "triangle" formation with the movie's main stars in the front. It got old after a while. You want to be the Grease of the 21st century? Take a page from them: a.) Dancing is not necessary in every song and b.) Mix up the dancing a bit! Don't make the choreography the same for every song with minor modifications! Get creative!
So far this review has been nothing but complaints, but the one shining point of the film: Ashley Tisdale's role as Sharpay. She stole the show and this talent goldmine should be getting some major roles in the future. The other acting performances in this movie were above average(Ryan, Chad, Kelsi), mediocre(Troy, Taylor) and bad(Gabriella), but Sharpay was excellent. The country club manager Mr. Fulton was excellent too.
If you are a die hard High School Musical fan, you probably had your mind set before seeing this that this movie would be OMG AWESOME! And because this movie had a lot of fanservice, it probably lived up to your expectations. But someone like me, who thought the first one was mediocre and went in with a neutral mind, it didn't live up to the massive hype I have been exposed to all summer.
Pros
+ Ashley Tisdale of Sharpay = EXCELLENT + Higher production values than the first one + You are the music in me = Good song + Overall plot message teaches a good lesson to people under 18
Cons
- Acting could have been better - No memorable songs or instant classics - Bad choreography and dancing - Thin, linear, and predictable plot - Too much fanservice, played it safe, didn't take risks - Not enough substance in between songs - Didn't live up to the hype
* 1/2
