Directed by Kenny Ortega, starring Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Lucas Grabeel

As ever, Zac Efron is teen cutester Troy Bolton, who totally rules the school basketball court, without his artfully contrived fringe ever becoming disordered. Vanessa Hudgens is Gabriella, the singer and dancer with whom Troy appears to be going steady in a sweet'n'innocent way, though the film has a quasi-Bollywood reluctance to show kissing on the lips.

Once again, they find themselves appearing together in the high school musical and Troy even finds that his future in college sports is open to question: Should he instead try out for New York's prestigious Juilliard school for the performing arts?

The all-important show is once again underpinned by the brother-and-sister combo: Sharpay, a Valley-Girl princess played by Ashley Tisdale, and her choreographer brother Ryan, played by Lucas Grabeel, who looks like the crazed love-child of Will Arnett and Jonny Lee Miller.

Then there's Troy. Troy has to figure out some big things about himself. Is he a jock or not? For years, he thought he was a basketball player. Yet now he finds the world of Broadway show tunes may be more his thing. And is he gonna be with Gabriella ... or not? It's a choice which makes Troy's befringed features go dreamily, enigmatically blank.

Well, millions of high-schoolers all over the world are confused as to who they really are. And many grown-ups professionally involved in the business we call show - perhaps even those on this very franchise - have painful memories of this dilemma, brought to a crisis by their own school play. Troy finally manages to fudge the issue. He accepts a college place at Berkeley, where he can be both a basketball player and a show tunes person. Is that what they call bi-disciplinary? I think Troy is kidding himself. The Guardian

(China Daily 10/28/2008 page20