High School Musical 3: Senior Year

It's hard to ignore the cultural juggernaut that is High School Musical - a Disney vehicle that has made pin-up stars of its cast, including Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens and Ashley Tisdale. Having begun as a TV movie, it now transfers to the big screen, but the plot remains reassuringly familiar.

It revolves around events at East High School. In the first installment we met the basketball hero, Troy (Efron), who falls for the brainy geek Gabriella (Hudgens), and in the second he had to choose between her and the rich girl offering him the moon on a plate.

This time around, our lovebirds must reconcile themselves to their impending separation as she twirls off to an Ivy League university and he takes up a basketball scholarship at the local college. But there's also the prospect of a scholarship for one lucky East High student to study drama at Juilliard, which might just throw everyone's plans into disarray.

High School Musical's stock in trade is big, bouncy, flyaway tunes, with a touch of teen angst, and a dab of old-school Hollywood musical. Though the central storyline is perhaps less compelling than those of the previous outings, it's still wonderful, zinging stuff. Expect Efron and Hudgens to have soon taken over the stratosphere. ·