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Three out of Five stars
Running time: 112 mins

High School Musical 3 is basically exactly the same as the two previous films, combining likeable stereotypes and bright colours with energetic song and dance numbers – it's well made and entirely watchable, but it won't really appeal to anyone outside its target audience.

What's it all about?
With the phenomenal success of the first two High School Musical movies (which were made-for-DVD), it was only a matter of time before the adventures of Troy, Gabriella and the gang hit the big screen. In this third instalment, East High heartthrob Troy (Zac Efron) and his girlfriend Gabriella (Vanessa Hudgens) worry about being separated from each other as college approaches.

To take their minds off their impending futures and to celebrate their final year, the East High gang (including Olesya Rulin as songwriter Kelsi and Lucas Grabeel as choreographer Ryan) decide to stage one last musical. Meanwhile, queen bee Sharpay (Ashley Tisdale) is up to her old tricks again, while Troy has to make a tricky decision about his future.

The Good
If you've seen either of the previous films, you'll know exactly what to expect: colourful sets, high-energy musical numbers and a plot that's seemingly terrified of anything bad happening to anyone – potential upsets are resolved within seconds and conflicts are immediately addressed via the surprising method of characters actually talking to each other. As such, this is the very definition of good, clean fun – there are no gross-out gags or sex jokes here and tongues are kept firmly away from cheeks.

The Bad
The problem with the film is that it's so relentlessly bland that you have almost nothing to hang on to. Efron is the only actor with any real charisma, since none of the other characters are allowed to break out of their painfully thin stereotypes – even a potentially interesting subplot with Jemma McKenzie-Brown's English exchange student is quickly snuffed out.

Worth seeing?
In short, its undemanding target audience will love High School Musical 3: Senior Year, but anyone else will find themselves longing for a bit of substance, depth or wit.