These movies were the epitome of end-of-summer slumber parties. The Bring It On franchise invigorated the fictional cheerleading genre by demonstrating that the sport was more than just football games and pom poms. Before the world was introduced to the Navarro and Trinity Valley rivalry from Netflix's docuseries Cheer, there were the Rancho Carne Toros and East Compton Clovers.
While the preceding films did not continue with the characters established in the first installment, the plot of rival squads with bones to pick remained, with the theme of one school struggling financially or socially. Throughout the early 2000s, the series of movies went from the big screen to TV movies and censored cable re-runs. That doesn't mean we don't still love a good back handspring or basket toss. From worst to best, here's how these cheer-offs rank in our hearts.
'Bring It On: Worldwide #Cheersmack' (2017)
As if the title weren't enough to drive loyal fans away, the movie itself would. After being called out by various teams across the world, The Rebels must compete in a virtual cheer competition against The Truth, hosted by the Cheer Goddess (Vivica A. Fox). Besides Fox's ties to the film, the remaining cast is unknown in this straight-to-the-DVD movie.
For the 100 people that took the time to review this movie as RT audience members, it was not worth the watch with an 8% rotten score. Universal clearly demonstrated its lack of ideas as Bring It On: Worldwide #Cheersmack attempted to merge the internet with this franchise. Almost two decades from the original film's release, this sixth film is a cheer-tastrophe. It is available to stream via rental on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, and YouTube.
'Bring It On: Again' (2004)
There'd be no second tryout for a sequel on the big screen for the franchise. Bring It On: Again went straight to DVD release two years after the original film was released. Struggling to stay on their college cheerleading squad, freshmen Whittier (Anne Judson-Yager) and Monica (Faune A. Chambers) form their own squad of misfits whose extracurricular interests were cut from the school's budget. The haphazard squad attempts to challenge the established team and its leader Tina (Bree Turner) to see which squad will represent the school at this year's competition.
The audience score says enough about the opinion of this installment. With no critic score at all, Bring It On: Againearned a rotten 38% from over 250,000 ratings. This sequel is often rather forgotten when it comes to marathoning this franchise. Its relatively unknown cast and overdone themes left fans wishing they'd just rewatched the original instead. Bring It On: Again is available to watch with a subscription to Peacock or for rental on Amazon Prime.
'Bring It On: Fight to the Finish' (2009)
A rags-to-riches story in more ways than one, Bring It On: Fight to the Finish is a combination of the second and third franchise films. After her mother remarries, Lina (Christina Milian) must transfer from a public school to a rich, private school where she struggles to fit in especially with the snobby cheer captain Avery (Rachele Brooke Smith). Lina gets to work revamping the junior varsity squad with her step-sister Sky (Holland Roden) and best friend from her former school to challenge Avery's varsity squad at the Spirit Championships.
With a smaller audience rating, the fifth installment garnered a 64% score from 2,500+ ratings. Lina transfers (like All or Nothing's Britney) and must retrain and put together a new squad to challenge the existing squad (like the sequel). There's no new storyline here, hence the slow dip in scores from the 2006 and 2007 installments. Bring It On: Fight to the Finish is available to stream via rental on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, and YouTube.
'Bring It On: All or Nothing' (2006)
Baiting a reserved audience after the flop of the sequel, Bring It On: All or Nothing advertised names like Hayden Panettiere, Solange, and a small appearance from Rihanna. Just when Britney (Panettiere) thinks she's got the perfect year planned out as cheer captain with a jock boyfriend and a cheer competition hosted by Rihanna, her family moves, and she's transferred to Crenshaw Heights, a struggling for resources high school. She may stick out like a sore thumb, but Britney manages to earn a spot on the school's squad despite captain Camille's (Solange) resistance, quickly realizing they'll be competing against her former teammates.
The RT critics that did review the TV movie formed a dismal 20% score, while 10,000 plus audience members came in with a 70% rating. The status of the stars did the most work to elevate the film, and Panettiere's performance and character arc were somewhat less cringe-worthy than the stereotypes written into the film. Bring It On: All or Nothing is available to stream with a subscription to Peacock or for rental on Amazon Prime.
Bring It On: In It to Win It (2007)
Finding its groove again with recognizable names to draw audiences back, Bring It On: In It to Win It returned a year after the last installment, following suit with a straight-to DVD and TV release. Two rival squads from opposites coasts, the East Coast Jets led by Brooke (Cassandra Scerbo) and the West Coast Sharks led by Carson (Ashley Benson), must put their differences aside and come together to form one squad in hopes of winning the chance to represent the United States on the world tour.
Making no impression with critics, RT's 25,000+ audience ratings earned this squad a 70%. Fans of the franchise enjoyed the flip side where the teams must merge their styles to win instead of a direct head-to-head competition amongst the leads in the final performance. The teen audience was also drawn in with featured music from the on-the-rise Ashley Tisdale. Bring It On: In It to Win It is available for rental on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, and YouTube.
'Bring It On' (2000)
Hands down the best of them all, Bring It On is an iconic staple of the early 2000s teen genre. When newly appoint cheer captain Torrance (Kirsten Dunst) discovers their competition-winning routines were stolen from an underdog squad, she must reinvent her team to establish a new, honest legacy before the Daytona competition. Gabrielle Union stars as rival squad captain, Isis, providing a talented and hungry adversary for Dunst.
Earning a solid 64% and 66% from Rotten Tomatoes critics and audiences respectively, Bring It On is the highest rated of all six films, mostly due to its box office release. It's a prime example of why originals are almost always better than sequels. After seeing this film, droves of preteen and teen fans were heading to cheer tryouts. You can find this teen classic for rental on Amazon Prime, YouTube, Apple TV, and Google Play.
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