This was probably my first Step-Up movie I have ever seen in a theater. Hell this is my first time seeing a hip-hop dance movie in a theater. And how I got myself to actually see this... well I was invited by my friend, Vanessa, so I couldn't really say no. Of course when you think of dance movies, you think of the parade of dance battles with a flimsy plot, not much character development and that appeal toward hip-hop MTV teens... so it wasn't my cup of tea. And is that what I got out of this movie?
Yeah that's what I got.
Now I'll be straight with you. Its not intelligent or entirely creative like Inception, but what it promises on are the barrage of cool and impressive hip-hop dance sequences and that's what it delivered. Though I was expecting a large number of SPECTACULAR and AMAZING dance sequences and I only found one to be amazing. So it felt short of my expectation. But at least my time wasn't wasted at all and I thoroughly had an enjoyable time.
You get what you expect for fans of these Step Up movies: a film all about cool and creative hip-hop dance sequences, the hottest mainstream hip-hop soundtrack and a all-too predictable plot with a cast of generic hip-hop character with black and white motivations. Let's see if I can summarize the plot: a guy named Moose gets recruited by a guy named Rick into the warehouse of the Pirates with its bands of merry dancers. Their club is losing money and has their warehouse up for sale, so they need to win this dance tournament to win a huge prize money before their rivals, the Samurais takes their warehouse away. Geez I could understand why their club is losing money if they are spending nothing but STEREOS and SHOES that are worth thousands! But with the magic of movie logic, you can foresee the ending way ahead. But that is not you came to see a Step Up movie, right?
Its all about the dance. That is what sells this movie and started this whole tread of these dance movies. And I would say that the dances are indeed entertaining. Though some can be pointless at times. Like when the rivals follows one of the lead characters into a bathroom and instead of threatening him by just beating him up or knifing him, the rivals actually threatens him with dance... I really don't why they use that to demoralize him, but hey... movie logic. And with the addition of 3D gimmick, it makes all the dance sequences very surreal and cool. There is one dance sequence (that is probably my favorite and the only great dance sequence of this movie) that hawks back to the Gene Kelly and Fred Astire eras that was whimsical, cute and charming and it was good to see that in a mainstream teen-appealing film like Step Up. What really takes me out of these dance sequences is the use of sound effects used on dancers. Whenever a dancer moves their arms, it creates a WHOOSH sound. Really... these dancers are not superheroes or martial artists! Its distracting me these sequences when its supposed to be a marriage of both music and dance motion!
Thankfully for a smart movie-goer, its not for them. But you'll still have a fun time and be dazzled by the dance sequences it offered. Even if the essential things like plot, character, development, pacing and motivation are completely crap, you won't feel cheated when you see this. Its a fine film to watch.
2 and a half out of 5 stars
Now lets get onto a film I've been waiting for... SCOTT PILGRIM!!!
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