Based on the real life cheerdance team from Fukui Commercial High School, the full English title of Hayato Kawai's film チア＊ダン, Let's Go, JETS! From Small Town Girls to U.S. Champions?! pretty much gives away the ending of the Jets' story, but for this film, the journey is more important than the destination.
In many works of Japanese fiction (including this film), actually studying in high school is secondary to the act of joining a club and participating in club activities to become the best club in the nation. In this case, spunky country girl Hikari (Suzu Hirose) joins the cheerdance club in order to impress her (kinda) ex-boyfriend Kosuke (Mackenyu), but she soon finds her calling with cheerdancing. Along with team captain Ayano (Ayami Nakajo), recluse hip hop dancer Yui (Hirona Yamazaki), big-boned classmate Taeko (Miu Tomita), and coach from hell with a heart of gold Saotome (Yuki Amami), the girls aim to be the best team in Japan to get a chance to participate in the world championships in America.
That said, Let's Go, Jets is a strange creature; it isn't actually a sports movie or even strictly a cheerdance movie in the mold of the mother of all millennial cheerleader movies, 2000's Bring it On. Despite the fact that the film introduces a team of smug Americans, they aren't really set up as antagonists. The fact that we already know the outcome of the story changes the film's nature. The main "antagonists" in Let's Go, Jets are the Jets themselves, as they each have their own personal hang-ups that prevent them from becoming the best team in Japan. In fact, we don't really see the girls performing properly until the very last sequence. Ironically, the cheerleaders are the ones who need the most cheering up.
And even though the lack of a true competitive element may seem like there are no opportunities for legitimate dramatic moments, Let's Go, Jets has a couple of seriously affecting scenes, especially near the end. In being reflexive, the film's inward focus on the girls' emotional growth helps viewers get invested in their struggles, even though the outcome has already been decided.
The film does suffer a couple of missteps. While the main cast is exceptional (especially Suzu Hirose and Yuki Amami), the American actors for the film's climax are tolerable at best, and cringeworthy at worst. A central piece of conflict near the third act feels tacked on, even though it helps set up some revelatory scenes afterwards.
That said, Let's Go, Jets! is pleasant enough entertainment, though it may be different from what one would normally expect from a film about competitive cheerdance. Suzu Hirose fans are in for a treat.
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