Movie Review: "Step Up 3D"

Seen on: August 4, 2010

The players: Director: Jon Chu, Writers:Amy Andelson, Emily Meyer, Cast: Rick Malambri, Adam G. Sevani, Sharni Vinson, Alyson Stoner

Facts of interest: Chu also helmed "Step Up 2: The Streets."

The plot: A bunch of dancers gear up to beat their rivals at a huge dance competition.

Our thoughts: Let’s face it: nobody really needed another “Step Up” movie. The first one did its job and became popular, and the sequel sucked and quickly started to feel too monotonous. Then the whole 3D thing came along, and someone out there thought it would be awesome to have some talented dancers/bad actors spin some cool moves straight into our faces. Thus, Jon Chu’s “Step Up 3D” was born.

Here’s the somewhat big surprise though: the third film is actually not a disaster. Believe it or not, but I left the theater more optimistic about this sequel than the last, and there are two simple reasons for that: the dancing and the 3D. Forget the story though; it’s as disastrously simplistic and cheesy as the rest of them, and it really slows down the entire film between the loud, fast-paced dance sequences.

“Step Up 3D” follows a dude named Luke (Rick Malambri), a passionate New Yorker who’s gearing up to participate in one of the biggest dance battles around. He and his buddies call themselves pirates, and they’re ready to take the stage and fight for their honor and the big prize money. Joining them on their quest are college freshman Moose (Adam G. Sevani) and a chick named Natalie (Sharni Vinson)…

That’s all you really need to know about the plot, because “Step Up 3D” is one big mess when it comes to the storytelling part. The dialogue is painfully amateurish and the characters lack freshness and plausibility, and pretty much everything besides the dancing feels predictable, superficial and utterly boring. Most of the folks in this film just can’t act, and it hurts every time they open their mouth.

Let’s move on to the good stuff though. The dancing is cooler than ever, and most of the crazy moves on the big screen feel vibrant and look phenomenal. The dancers know their game and excel at what they do, and it’s quite a pleasure to watch them spin, jump, run, fly, turn, twist and perform all these amazing robot dances onstage. I’m really not that much into dancing and all, but watching this is a bunch of fun.

The other thing I enjoyed in this flick is the 3D effect. It’s one of only a few movies so far to really use it to its advantage, and it definitely boosts the film’s entertainment value by adding tons of spice to the great dancing. The image is sharp and not too dark, and Chu did a great job putting his cameras right into the middle of the action. It all makes you feel you’re right there onstage cheering for the dancers.

Sadly enough, great technical aspects and awesome dancing can’t save “Step Up 3D.” This would have worked better as a thrilling documentary, but the terrible writing causes major damage to the end product. And as I already mentioned, the acting is laughable at best. In fact, many folks at my screening couldn’t help but burst out laughing at pretty much everything the characters said. It’s that silly.

Freaky quote: "I never lose." - Sharni Vinson

The final word: No need to go into further detail. You know what this movie is about, and you either like it or not. The dancing is great and the 3D looks and feels cool, and that’s about it. Everything else is forgettable. Even though I did not completely hate this sequel, I admit it’s definitely time to close the book on the “Step Up” series. Something tells me this will be the last one anyway.

Article by Franck Tabouring