Advance Review: Step Up 3D

For dancing movies, no one really cares about the plot. It's all about the dancing and routines! Now, a dance movie that has a good storyline is just icing on the cake. Unfortunately, this is just cake. The plot had a lot of holes and I wasn't fully satisfied with the ending. One of the relationships felt forced and unnecessary. But again, the plot doesn't matter. I was so enthralled with the dancing and battle storyline that I didn't even notice these holes while watching; it was only during the focus group after the film, when I was forced to look back and reflect on the weaknesses, that I noticed these short comings.

The dance battles were memorable and highlighted by the fact that they were in 3D. And this is 3D as it was meant to be made - shot in 3D instead of converting it after the fact. The 3D made the dancing even more jaw dropping. They had the battles set so they could fully use 3D to its maximum potential. The first battle took place in a warehouse with chalk all over the floor. The chalk highlighted certain moves and made the 3D really pop. This style was used again in another dance battle which was set in a small pool of water. Great dancing and footwork, while also using the water to make moves more dramatic and exciting.

This is the third film in a series, but you really don't need to know anything about the first two movies to enjoy it. I saw the first one (Channing Tatum's big break) and loved it, but had no desire to see the second installment. What drew me to Step Up 3D was it's connection to So You Think You Can Dance, with Adam Shankman as director and many of the stars from Season 4-6 in minor roles, and the 3D element. The basic story is that the "Moose" character from the second film moves to NYC to go to NYU but gets wrangled into the dancing world despite trying to focus on his engineering degree. There's a cute romance and a heated rivalry that spice things up along the way to the World Jam - the final battle that crowns a dance crew champion and awards a prize that will supposedly solve all their problems. Again, this story isn't important. With at least 5 riveting dance routines that feature some of the best dancers around - Twitch, Legacy, Mad Chad, etc, you're in for a great time.

My recommendation: See this film in theaters (in 3D!) if you have ever liked a dance movie, ever.

Watch the trailer below, in case you missed it the first time I posted it: