High School Musical 2 (Extended Edition) [Blu-ray]
High School Musical 2 (Extended Edition) [Blu-ray]
Studio: Buena Vista Home Video Release Date: 12/11/2007 Run time: 111 minutesWhat 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.
Everyone’s back from the original movie, including Zac’s buddy Chad (Corbin Bleu), Sharpay’s brother Ryan (Lucas Grabeel), and Gabriella’s friend Taylor (Monique Coleman). And the songs on the hit soundtrack often parallel the originals and are just as catchy: the Troy-Gabriella duet (”You Are the Music in Me,” which is later Sharpay-ized into a rock version), the sports-flavored hip-hop number (”I Don’t Dance,” but this time on the baseball diamond instead of the basketball court), the Gabriella lament (”Gotta Go My Own Way”), the climactic stage duet (”Everyday”), and the mass-ensemble closer (”All for One”). But the sequel doesn’t just stick to the status quo. Other songs include a flashy opener (”What Time Is It”), Sharpay’s poolside feature (”Fabulous”), a percussive ensemble number (”Work This Out”), and Zac’s solo (”Bet On It”), and the dances are even bigger this time around, relentlessly high-energy and often spectacular. In addition, the “let’s put on a show” angle is only a subplot and the romance is now front and center–which means High School Musical has lost a bit of its innocence. But it’s still wholesome viewing for tweens of all ages. Sharp-eyed Disney Channel fans will spot Miley “Hannah Montana” Cyrus as an extra. –David Horiuchi
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars Even Better Songs/Dances Push This Film Past Its Predecessor
Though most film sequels fail to live up to the originality of their predecessor, High School Musical 2 is the rare film able to actually eclipse its first effort.
This time, the plot sees the East High crew all land jobs at a fancy country club (owned by Sharpay Evans’ rich father). While trying to manage work and summer funtime activities, Troy Bolton (Zac Efron) sees his relationship with Gabriella Montez (Vanessa Hudgens) fray to perhaps the breaking point, while of course Sharpay (Ashley Tisdale) seems to be the schemer behind everything.
Another simple plot, to be sure, but what really establishes this film as a notch above the first one is the much more imaginative song and dance numbers. “I Don’t Dance”, featuring the entertaining talents of Corbin Bleu and Lucas Grabeel, will strike a chord with sports fans, while both numbers featuring Tisdale’s Sharpay (”Humu Humu” and the upbeat “You Are The Music In Me”) will leave you feeling as if you are at a Broadway or Branson stage show production.
Though hesitant to subordinate any of HSM 2’s cast members, as they all bring something different to the table, I think that Tisdale possesses the most raw singing/dancing/acting talent, and thus a prolonged focus on her character does this film good. Her songs are always the most show-stopping of any HSM movie, and her completely over-the-top portrayal of Sharpay is a riot!
So never fear fans of the original HSM…this second effort will keep you singing and dancing long after the TV is turned off. Plus, though I highly recommend viewing the first film, newcomers to the series do not need to see “part one” in order to fully appreciate “part two”.
4 Stars Audio troubles don’t keep this down
A really good continuation of the franchise. The only problems come when the music kicks in and the audio is obviously studio created. Fabulous is a great example of this horrible editing.
Other than that it’s good, clean fun.
5 Stars High School Musical 2
I have not watched the dvd yet, but it was received in a very quick manner and was in original packaging. Thank you.
5 Stars great movie
great movie, was the first hsm i watched, after watching this i just had to see the others. Love the songs they came up with for the movies.
just a fun movie to watch and sing along to with family
1 Stars The Disney Empire Strikes Back (What’d We Ever Do To You To Deserve This Crap)
WHAT! AGAIN! YOU MEAN THERE’S A SEQUEL! Well of course there is. Everyone knows that Disney’s gonna milk this for all its worth as long as uncultured kids and their parents (cause they’re the ones with the money) will buy into it. So what can I say that I haven’t already said about the first? Well this superfluous sequel is obviously a rehash of the first only set at the end of the school year and at a country club. There’s just too much similarity between the basketball song and dance of the first and the baseball song and dance of this one. And like someone else said, when were dance and baseball the same? And now that I’ve moved on to the songs; well, what can I say but UTTER RUBISH! Again they are uncatchy and really make no sense in the sequence of things other than to shoehorn in another (badly performed) song and (poorly choreographed) dance. The big brassy opener is a poor attempt to “get back in” to the picture. The one performed by the rich girl and her brother could’ve been explained in actual dialogue. And I’m gonna stop there for the songs because they’re the sung the same and over acted. Again, character development would be welcome but the two main leads stay the same (they break up about mid-way but get back together anyway), the white jock’s sidekick remains the same and the mean girl remains, well, mean, rude and obnoxious (except at the end to sing the big finale number but only to return to her nasty ways in the third film). And let’s not forget the un-memorable cameo by Miley “gonna ruin three time Grammy award-winning group Radiohead because they didn’t wanna meet me” Cyrus by the pool. It’s a shame that this is the same company that gave us “Dumbo” (Walt’s favorite, might I add), “Sleeping Beauty” and so many other countless classics. Disney would be ashamed of what his dream has become!
Filed under: Blue Ray Movie Reviews