Let’s get three things out front right away; one, I have probably seen every dance movie made in America, two, I have a very long dance history myself and have seen my fair share of amazing talent in the industry, and three, though “Step Up 2” does not hold a candle to some of the other dance movies along the lines of a plot, it is hands down full of a cast with the most talented dancers I have ever seen.
Since there is not much of a plot, we can get it out of the way first. I am not a fan of sequels that do not contain the same characters as the original; however, this plot line covered up the fact that only one Step Up original (everyone’s favorite, Channing Tatum) appears in the sequel very nicely.
By Chelsea Oliver
Sports Editor
Let’s get three things out front right away; one, I have probably seen every dance movie made in America, two, I have a very long dance history myself and have seen my fair share of amazing talent in the industry, and three, though “Step Up 2” does not hold a candle to some of the other dance movies along the lines of a plot, it is hands down full of a cast with the most talented dancers I have ever seen.
Since there is not much of a plot, we can get it out of the way first. I am not a fan of sequels that do not contain the same characters as the original; however, this plot line covered up the fact that only one Step Up original (everyone’s favorite, Channing Tatum) appears in the sequel very nicely.
Andie (Briana Evigan) the new main character is your typical high-school girl. She is an orphan now living with her dead mother’s best friend, Sarah (Sonja Sohn) and is in a dancing street gang (okay so she’s not so typical).
Sarah is fed up with Andie staying out late and skipping school and threatens to send her away to Texas to live with her aunt. Of course, this is terrible news, and Andie has no other plans so she runs away.
Enter Channing Tatum to the rescue! Tyler (played by Tatum) finds Andie at a hot dance spot down town. He convinces her, through a dance off, to go to his Alma-Mater, in order to focus her energy on more structured things in life. Andie agrees, and is accepted into the school after her audition because of her “uniqueness.”
Here is where the plot gets over done. Andie struggles to find her place in her new school and gets kicked out of her dancing street gang because of her new high-class school.
She befriends the hottest and most popular boy in school, Chase (Robert Hoffman) and together they form their own street gang. What is to follow is basic teenage high school drama that Hollywood is over doing right now.
Though the plot is a little lame, and the acting skills aren’t ground-breaking, all the dance scenes make up for it. There is no doubt that this cast was made to dance.
Though I have heard rumors that many of the dance moves are assisted by wires, I’ve decided against that theory and think that this group is just an extremely talented and well selected cast. The director, Jon M. Chu, knew what he was doing.
Even though the plot is typical, and the acting is not Oscar winning, the dancing is enough to make the movie by itself.
Audiences of both genders will find themselves in awe after the final dance number and inspired by the courage, strength and discipline that all dancers must strive for to become great.
So if you are looking for something fun to watch, “Step Up 2: The Streets” is sure to pleasantly surprise you.