Step Up 2 The Streets film review

certificate_PG

STEP UP 2 THE STREETS

If you missed Step Up, which according to the press release 'ignited the world' in 2006 and became the 'fifth highest grossing dance movie in history', fear not. None of the original characters have been brought back for the sequel, which has a by-the-numbers screenplay greatly enlivened by some impressive dancing.

It's a familiar tale: a girl from the wrong side of the tracks (Briana Evigan) gets a chance to dance at a posh Baltimore performing arts school. But she has to leave her crew behind, the street kids that she's danced with since her feet started tapping. Will she fit in, and more importantly, will she start her own rival crew and take out her old gang as the reigning street dance champs?

It's a formulaic affair and one which is full of cliches: the uptight college principal, the dashing lead dancer, the quirky sidekick and the motley crew of dancers who just can't pick up the street moves. The direction, especially in the dramatic sequences, is somewhat heavy handed.

But it's not all bad news. This is a dance movie and the dance sequences are very impressive, with choreographer-cum-director John Chu strutting his stuff in impressive style. There are even one or two nods to the importance of youtube-style websites in these kids' lives - it's where they post their homemade dance videos - and more of this would have elevated the whole thing.

It's mindless but entertaining in a kitsch sort of way, and it's fair to say that if you only see one dance movie this month then you could do a lot worse. Fans of the franchise may be interested to know that the producers have Step Up 3 in 3-D already in the pipeline.

Paul Hurley