What time is it? Time for High School Musical 2, the sequel to the Disney Channel smash that aired on Aug. 17, 2007 and became the most-watched basic-cable show ever. School is out, and Troy (Zac Efron) and Gabriella (Vanessa Hudgens) are looking forward to a summer to remember, but Troy also needs to make bank so he can go to college. As it turns out, Sharpay (Ashley Tisdale), the self-proclaimed primo girl of East High, has her eye set on primo-boy Troy, and gets him a job at the country club her parents own. It looks great for Troy when Gabriella and the rest of the Wildcats are hired also, but when he gets preferential treatment from the club manager (Mark Taylor) and others, it puts all of his relationships in hot water.

Severe Dislike

I have watched both, the first and second movie.
In my opinion they are a disgrace to the title, "musical."

I don't understand how anyone could watch them more than once, let alone buy them.

It Took Me Two Viewings, But This Movie Is Fun

Its summer vacation and the Wildcats (otherwise known as East High students) are counting down the seconds until they are free. Of course, most of them are hoping to find summer jobs and so far having no luck.

All that changes when Troy Bolton (Zac Efron) gets offered a job at Lava Springs, the local country club. He quickly gets jobs for all his friends, including his girlfriend Gabriella Montez (Vanessa Anne Hudgens).

There's one thing they hadn't counted on, however. Lava Springs is owned by the parents of Sharpay (Ashley Tisdale) and Ryan (Lucas Grabeel). Sharpay had arranged for Troy to get a job so she could steel him away from Gabriella. So, naturally, she is furious to see the whole gang show up.

Even more important to her is the talent show. After losing out in the winter musical at school, she wants to retain her crown in the talent show. And the presence of her rivals just might upset that.

So Sharpay sets out to destroy her classmates by separating Troy from everyone else. And as more great things happen to him, he begins to grow distant. Will he remember what is truly important? Who will win the talent show? And will Troy ever kiss Gabriella?

I'll admit, as much as I loved the first, I didn't like this one right away. But I watched it a second time and enjoyed it more.

This movie falls into the same trap many sequels do, the retread. Many of the plot points feel like they were lifted from the first movie. Now I know that movie wasn't original, but I would have preferred to see the characters make different mistakes this go around. Additionally, the climax felt rushed, like something was cut to make everything make sense. I liked it, but it just wasn't logical enough for me.

I loved so many of the background characters. While they are all back, they get pushed even more into the background. Frankly, I would have liked to see more of them.

The soundtrack this time gets a heavy pop push, with most of the songs sounding like polished pop tracks. That makes it even more obvious that the actors are lip synching by the time they filmed the musical numbers. In fact, some of the songs come across more as music videos then songs in a musical. I'm sure the tween intended audience won't mind, but it did bug me.

Okay, if the movie has all these flaws, why am I giving it 4 stars? Because, once again, the movie is fun.

While the songs are overproduced for a musical, they are still good songs. They're fun to sing along with, and the dance numbers are great. I especially enjoyed "I Don't Dance."

Set during the summer before the character's senior year, some of the characters are struggling with their future. In fact, it's this struggle that almost separates Troy from his friends. I felt this was a believable issue for the students to be facing, and it helped ground the story.

This movies doesn't capture the fun of the original, but it comes very close. Watch it expecting a sequel, and you'll enjoy it just fine.

Not the Best, Not the Worst

It seems like I'm the only person on the face of this planet that's not a mega-huge fan of HSM. It's not that I hate "High School Musical", but I am starting to get a little sick of seeing it and hearing about it all over the place.

This sequel to the outrageously popular first movie isn't necessarily a bad sequel, but I don't think it's anything spectacular. It's got its strengths, and its weaknesses.

That little snob Sharpay is one of the major reasons I don't like this movie too great. I don't mind the actress Ashley Tisdale as a regular human being (in fact, I'm positive she's a very nice girl), but I do NOT like her character. It's like all her character cares about is her pretty little self. The whole world revolves around her, it's all about her, it doesn't matter if everyone else gets hurt or humiliated just so long as she gets what she wants, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. (Geez-Louise, Sharpay; get a life.)

There were some parts of the movie that I did like (such as the pool scene between Troy and Gabriella, and the scene where Troy makes up with his friends, and the scenes where Sharpay gets stood up), but overall, I'd give this movie a C, maybe a B-minus.