When rebellious street dancer Andie is forced to try out for a spot in the prestigious Maryland School of Arts her spot is anything buy guaranteed. But with a little luck the smart talking, class skipping dancer finds herself within the walls of MSA but way out of her comfort zone. Immediately stricken as an outsider Andie teams up with Chase, the top male dancer at the school, and a group of other misfits in order to merge her old life with her new. However, the highly competitive dance competition, The Streets, is just around the corner, forcing them to bond as a group and show the people that no matter where they are from or what they look like, all that matters is how well they can dance.
Filled with inadequate acting, a slow story and unexciting dance skits Step Up 2 the Streets fails to live up to its hype and unfortunately loses any respect that the first film had worked so hard to achieve.
With some of the most contagious dance moves and addictive beats to grace the big screen, the original Step Up was an instant hit with viewers of all ages, but unfortunately the success didn't carry over, especially when it comes to the dances. Now don't get me wrong, I completely understand that the styles and techniques of "˜street' dancing is different than that of hip-hop; however I also have to point out that the ways of "˜street' dancing doesn't come across as cool or slick as others either. With that said I have to criticize both the dancing and the story for making the focus of this film about the streets. The moves are awesome and difficult no doubt, but they just don't come across as well on screen, never really giving the audience that "˜wow' factor that the first film thrived on.
In addition I want to talk about the acting. Both Briana Evian and Robert Hoffman attempt to fill the shoes of Channing Tatum and company though I have to say that neither comes close. Briana's take on rough, misfit Andie comes across forced while Robert seems too preppy and nice to be the rebellious Chase. Combine the two together and we have two train wrecks heading for disaster. Thank goodness the film comes to a close before the two could really cause any irreversible damage.
On the other hand I do have to give credit where credit is due, and in the case of this film, most of the credit goes to the musicians and arrangers who pieced together the stellar soundtrack for the film. The music helped actually allows you to bypass a lot of the struggling acting that was taking place on screen and enjoy the film for what it is. In short, the music helped the film excel from its destined spot in the pit of despair and actually helped it garner a little respect and made its case for a plausible "˜dance movie.' Unfortunately though, it won't make the same impact as the original film did, which as a predecessor is disappointing yet expected.
