6.6 | / 10 |
Users | 4.1 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.4 |
When rebellious street dancer Andie lands at the elite Maryland School of the Arts, she finds herself fighting to fit in while also trying to hold onto her old dream of dancing with an underground Baltimore street crew. When she joins forces with the school's hottest dancer Chase to form a crew of classmate outcasts to compete in Baltimore's underground dance battle "The Streets," she ultimately finds a way to live her dream while building a bridge between her two separate worlds.
Starring: Briana Evigan, Robert Hoffman (X), Will Kemp, Cassie Ventura, Sonja SohnRomance | 100% |
Teen | 72% |
Music | 32% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: LPCM 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: Dolby Digital 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
English SDH, French, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Here’s a thought for studios considering what to do for their next big dance film: Forget about trying to shoehorn a shopworn story into the thing. Drop the pretense of having a plot. Give the old “tough kid from the streets gets accepted into a prestigious fine arts high school” chestnut a rest. And cool it with the hokey attempts at edgy urban slang and the phony “We can do this guys!” motivational (faux-tivational?) speeches. Just make a big budget dance documentary. What the hell, film it in 3D so every pop, lock, flip and booty shake lunges out of the screen at us. Instead of hiring dancers to try to be actors—and to basically act like hyperbolized, fictionalized versions of themselves—follow real dance crews competing in real battles. (Or, whatever the kids are calling them. Is it battle? You could call the film Dance Wars.) The point is, the allure of this genre is the dancing. For film after film, in review after review, you read something like this: “The dance sequences are great, full of high-octane energy, but the intervening drama is a long, predictable, cliché-ridden slog.” Why not cut out the filler? I’m looking at you, Step Up 2: The Streets.
If this is what it takes to step up 2 the streets, I'm in.
Step Up 2: The Streets foregoes much of the ultra-vivid, super-saturated, high contrast look of its fellow dance film compatriots, going instead for a look that's a bit more gritty and muted, something perhaps more appropriate for the crime-ridden city that gave us The Wire. (However, as a born and raised Marylander, I should say that although the film was shot there according to IMDB, Baltimore is almost entirely unrecognizable here.) Many, then, might find the film's 1080p/AVC-encoded transfer to be somewhat underwhelming. There are some poppy colors in the club scenes, and clothing looks brighth—if only to visually separate the dancers from their surroundings—but most of the movie looks dull and drawn back. Black levels are deep—sometimes too deep—but contrast is a little flat. This is the film's intended look, though, so I can't really argue with it. The picture is, at least, fairly detailed and sharp. There are a few scenes that look slightly soft, but in general facial texture is well represented and lines look crisp (and unaided by halo-inducing edge enhancement). Grain is thin and looks entirely natural—no DNR abuses here—and I didn't spot any real compression-related troubles. Like the film itself, the picture quality is at its best during the big finale—the scene in the rain—which shows a commendable amount of depth and punch.
Disregard the back of the case, which claims this disc has a Dolby TrueHD mix, as what you'll actually find when you boot up the film is an uncompressed PCM 5.1 surround track. (Not that there would be too much difference between the two.) During the dance sequences and the club scenes, this track sounds fantastic. Obviously, hip-hop dominates the score, and the songs are represented with palpable, chest-thumping heft—bass response will definitely wake the neighbors if you crank this one up—and clean high-end clarity, allowing all the nuances of the music to be heard. These scenes are also the most immersive; chatter fills the soundfield, the songs are bled into the rears, and there's a nice sense of being there, right in the middle of the club. The sound design is noticeably—and understandably—less pronounced during the quieter parts of the film. You'll still hear occasional environmental ambience—street sounds, crickets, a bus moving between channels—but it's never as active or involving. Dialogue, both during the drama-driven scenes and the hectic club segments, is perfectly balanced, clean, and discernable. If you want some help catching all that hepcat street slang, though, English, French, and Spanish subtitles are available in easy-to-read white lettering.
Deleted Scenes (1080i, 22:33)
Includes eight deleted scenes—including a few extra dance numbers—with optional introductions by
the director.
Music Videos (SD, 22:29)
Several music videos for songs featured in the film, including: "Low" - Flo Rida feat. T-Pain, "Ching-
A-Ling" - Missy Elliott, "Killa" - Cherish feat. Yung Joc, "Hypnotized" - Plies feat. Akon, "Let It Go" -
Brit & Alex, and an outtake of Cassie performing "Is It You."
Through Fresh Eyes: The Making of Step Up 2 (1080p, 12:23)
Here, we go behind-the-scenes with first-time director Jon M. Chu and the film's dancers and
choreographers. Your average "making of" documentary.
Outlaws of Hip Hop: Meet the "410" (1080p, 4:54)
Brief interviews with the dancers in the 410—Black Thomas, Alex Welch, Ebone Johnson, Rynan
Shawn, James Colter, Jeff Ogle, Alison Faulk, and famed choreographer Hi-Hat.
Robert Hoffman Video Prank (1080p, 1:59)
As if convenience store clerks don't have enough crap to put up with, here some poor guy has to
deal with Robert Hoffman pulling a lame prank.
Post-Wrap Dancing (1080p, 1:38)
A not-so-cleverly hidden Easter egg, this short clip shows many of the film's dancers busting moves
at the cast wrap party.
You probably don't need my opinion of Step Up 2: The Streets. If you liked the first Step Up, or if you love dance films and don't mind sitting through a been-there-before plot for a few good bust-a-move sequences, then this is for you. And then are those for whom the very thought of a Disney-produced dance flick induces acid reflux, dry heaves, or worse. We all know who we are. At any rate, Step Up 2 makes a solid showing on Blu-ray, with a fairly strong transfer and a bass- heavy uncompressed PCM 5.1 surround track. Fans should also be on the lookout for Step Up 3D, coming to theaters this fall.
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