New York's intense street-dancing underground gets a 3D makeover in Step Up 3D, the latest installment of the dance movie franchise. This sequel takes all the familiar conventions of its predecessors -- the high-energy soundtrack, glittery dance sequences, and "born from a boom box" mentality -- but this time adds a new dimension, literally. This film celebrates the business of artistic expression and, like most urban dance films (think, Breakin'), relies on the same old triumph-of-the-underdog plot in order to showcase the best part of this kind of movie -- the performances -- but visually Step Up 3D takes it to a whole new level. In this installment, Moose (Adam G. Sevani, from Step Up 2) and his best friend, Camille (Alyson Stoner), leave behind their Baltimore-area performing-arts school and enter New York University. During orientation Moose gets involved in a dance-off in Washington Square Park, where he meets Luke (Rick Malambri), an aspiring filmmaker and dancer who likes Moose's moves. The pair go back to "The Vault," Luke's Brooklyn-based converted warehouse left to him by his parents, which serves as a halfway house of sorts for an eclectic group of street dancers, the Pirates. Enter Natalie, a feisty club girl from the streets who takes a liking to Luke and joins his crew. When the bank threatens to foreclose on The Vault, Luke and the Pirates enter the World Jams dance contest in hopes of winning the coveted first-place prize of 100,000 dollars and beating the rival dance crew the Samurais. Director Jon M. Chu (Step Up 2) uses the new technology to pull the audience into this world where dancing is the only means of expression. The film was shot in 3D with plenty of arms and legs flying at the audience, but Chu focuses so much on the visuals that he's allowed everything else, from story to character development, to fall by the wayside. Still, what stays consistent throughout are the amazing dance performances. This film is populated by professional dancers, and these kids are like dance superheroes, leaping from rooftops and contorting their bodies in ways that don't seem humanly possible. Some of the standout set pieces include dance battles in a club bathroom, dance sequences along the tree-lined streets of New York City à la Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, and an overly choreographed tango at a black-tie event -- and these spirited performances make the film worth watching. When thinking about a film like Step Up 3D, it's important to approach it like a modern-day movie musical -- minus the whole breaking into song thing -- and with visuals that pop, energetic choreography, and an added dimension, this film delivers on everything you could want in a dance musical.
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