Film Reviews

Step Up 2 the Streets

• Rating:
• Director: John Chu
• Starring: Briana Evigan
• Details: US / 98mins (PG)

Andi (Evigan) is part of a crew of street dancers who express themselves by free-style dancing in competition and on public transportation. When her guardian threatens to send her to live with relatives in Texas for truly inexplicable reasons, she agrees to attend a prestigious dance school as a compromise. But her group aren't happy; thus numerous energetic 'dance-offs' ensue as she forms her own crew along with resident 'hottie' Chase (Hoffman). Linked to the first movie only through a fleeting cameo by Channing Tatum, Step Up 2 is pretty much just as bad as you knew it was going to be. It suffers from the same problems as its predecessor, as the progressive plot, narrative and characterisation all feel like an excuse to get to the next montage or dance sequence. When Andi forms her crew to enter 'the streets' competition, you'll be left perplexed as to why the filmmakers thought it was a good idea to have a bunch of well-to-do teenagers essentially crash their financially-inferior urban counterparts' only real outlet for creative expression. Granted, said public expression is hardly anarchic, though it somehow ends up on the news and up the cops' noses - even though the group only seem to simply dance around on a train, entertaining some baffled passengers thoroughly. Changing the delinquent protagonist to a girl, too, is a lazy attempt to appear to do something different, and merely serves as an excuse to see some sweaty female midriff. All of that said, anyone who enjoyed the first film probably won't be disappointed with its sequel, as the main cast offer lively turns and are obviously a talented bunch. The selling point is the music and the dance choreography, both of which deliver - especially one extended rain-soaked sequence towards the end - but it's still nothing you can't see at home on MTV Base for free. So, ultimately what we have here is an extended Missy Elliot music video, with the volume turned down sporadically so you can swig from your Coke and not really miss anything. Perfect for the baggy-clothed, expletive-spewing, hip-hop-obsessed teenager in your life.

Review by Mike Sheridan