Bring It On film review

certificate_12

BRING IT ON

Torrance Shipman (Dunst), newly elected captain of The Toros mixed-sex cheerleading squad, finds the team's award-winning routines have been stolen from a rival hip-hop squad called The Clovers.

With the National Cheerleading Championship just around the corner, Torrance recruits transfer student Missy (Dushku) and begins choreographing a new routine full of demanding lifts and spins. Meanwhile, The Clovers' captain Isis (Union) has her squad primed to teach the thieving Toros a long overdue lesson.

Bring It On is a fresh and frothy little number with plenty of fire in its firm and toned belly. Peyton Reed's enjoyable flick tells of the smart and sexy heroine who falls for the most straitlaced guy in school, and benefits from sure art direction and a host of quotable one-liners.

Dunst turns in another engaging performance as the all-American sweetheart whose effervescence and optimism rekindle the Toros' lost pride. Her on-screen relationship with Bradford's sardonic charmer fizzes with plenty of unspoken sexual longing.

Reed sets aside the final frenetic 15 minutes for the crucial head-to-head between the Toros and the Clovers, showcasing the two routines in their entirety.

The kinetic direction and brisk editing leaves the audience feeling just as breathless and exhilarated as the competitors.