MOVIE NEWS: Step Up 3-D

Editor’s note: we interrupt our regularly scheduled programming for a word from OWL’s assistant editor, Kendra Brown. (Craig will be back next week.) Enjoy!

Are you a fan of So You Think You Can Dance or America’s Best Dance Crew? Well, have I got a movie for you. Step Up 3-D, the newest flick in the Step Up franchise, hits theatres today, and I got to see a preview earlier this week.

The movie is about a dance crew called the Pirates who live together and dance together in a warehouse in Brooklyn, New York. When Luke, the leader of the Pirates, finds out he’s broke and in danger of losing the warehouse, he rallies the dancers together — including newcomers to the crew, Moose and Natalie — to compete in the World Jam. The winning team receives a major cash prize, which the Pirates need in order to keep their home and dance studio. But to win, they have to beat the Samurai, a rival dance crew with a leader who will stop at nothing to take the World Jam title — and take down the Pirates.

Here are a few observations about the movie:

1) The story is typical. There are good guys and bad guys, and of course, a love story — all with very few twists or turns along the way. There are no major surprises, to say the least. But the good news is that the story is the only place where the movie lacks originality. And while normally that would be a big deal, it’s not here. This movie is all about dancing, which brings me to my next observation (and a major reason why this movie rocks!).

2) The dance routines are wicked. The movie is packed with an unbelievably talented group of dancers, like fan-favourites Twitch and Legacy from So You Think You Can Dance. And while their acting skills may not be the best, their dance moves are. Add cool choreography and a killer soundtrack, and you get some seriously eye-popping dance sequences set in the streets of New York.

3) The 3-D effects are awesome. Let’s face it. We’re all tired of putting on those 3-D glasses only to be disappointed by what we see on screen (or at least I sure am!). But this time, I was blown away. As the dancers performed flips, spins, and fresh new moves, it was like they were jumping right out of the screen at me. And I have to say, it was pretty cool.

Overall, I was a fan of this movie. Maybe it’s because I’m a sucker for retro dance moves, like the robot, and cool sneakers, but it’s also just because it’s a fun movie with some of the best 3-D effects I’ve seen so far this summer.

If you go check it out this weekend, come back and tell us what you think!

Kendra, owlblog@owlkids.com