A tight-knit group of New York City street dancers find themselves pitted against the world's best hip hop dancers in a high-stakes showdown.
Director: Jon M. Chu
Stars: Sharni Vinson, Rick Malambri, Adam Sevani.
Steven Ramon Bryson ... choreography coordinator
Hi-Hat ... choreographer
Dave Scott ... choreographer
Jamal Sims ... supervising choreographer
Giggi Yazicioglu ... co-choreographer
Watched online, good print,
49 songs in the Soundtracks, including an old recording by Fred Astaire to which a couple danced down the street in a blended ballroom-y hip-hop style. One or both of them were in the prior Step Up film; the boy, Moose.
The showdown is a contest for $$ 5-figure prize, and the street crew needs it to meet the mortgage payment on the building they've been using as a studio/residence. The top crew in the competition does use intimidation tactics early in the story, but no actual violence. During the competition they gesture and pose in threatening ways, but again no violent follow through.
The dancing is the king in this film, and it's very good. It's all hip-hop/street, but it's very well choreographed and executed. At least 1 of the dance segments was shot so that the faces of the 2 leads were obscured, but they have dance in their resumes, so maybe it's really them.
I like this, mostly for the dancing.
Rated 6.2 (52,562)
Touchstone & more, dir. Chu; 6+
