Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		2.5

Step Up All In Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman November 7, 2014

There’s a moment during the opening credits sequence of Step Up All In when it seems like the film is going to have a somewhat humorously jaundiced view of what being a dancer is really like in the entertainment industry, but, alas, it’s only a moment, as three casting agents put a variety of weird acts through their paces. But once Step Up All In gets to its “main act”, the film devolves into such a ludicrous parade of showbiz movie clichés that it becomes hard to keep track of them after a while. This “all star” entry in the popular Step Up series gets a number of So You Think Can Dance-esque “crews” to Las Vegas to compete for a show called The Vortex, as it simultaneously marauds through every hoary trope from “let’s put on a show” to “you’re going out there a chorus girl (and/or ensemble dancer) and coming back a star!”

Step Up All In does at least passably well when it shuts up and dances, and the film does offer some spectacular if ultimately repetitive sequences that include everything from a kind of Frankenstein's monster setup to a big showdown in a boxing ring. The large cast does what it can with the interstitial material, which is soap operatic at best and absurd at worst. Loud, colorful and just slightly tacky, Step Up All In just about perfectly sums up the typical Vegas experience, whether you're there as a working dancer or as a tourist.

Step Up All In Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Step Up All In is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. Step Up All In boasts a very bright, colorful (almost garish once the film gets to Vegas) appearance that pops really well in high definition. Colors are bold and extremely well saturated. The glittering Vegas strip at nighttime benefits from clear resolution of busy patterns like light displays as well as solid blacks offering an excellent relief to the foreground colors. Close-ups offer abundant detail, and while fine detail can occasionally suffer simply due to the quickness of the choreography, this is generally a really sharp, vivid looking presentation. The film was screened theatrically in 3D, but there's only a 2D version included on this Blu-ray.

Step Up All In Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Step Up All In features a nonstop array of music that helps its Dolby TrueHD 7.1 and Atmos mixes roar and pump through the surround channels. Some of the raucous group scenes also offer a glut of immersion, with nicely directional dialogue and well placed ambient environmental sounds. The mix is occasionally quite busy, especially in some of the hip hop inspired numbers, but fidelity is always crystal clear and prioritization is extremely well managed.

Step Up All In Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• All In With the Crew (1080p; 9:49)


• Dance Breakdown: Final Stage (1080p; 5:36)


• Clap, Stomp, Slide: The Sounds of Battle (1080p; 4:17)


• Audio Commentary with Director Trish Sie and Actress Briana Evigan


• Ryan's Favorite Dance Scenes with Optional Commentary


• The Vortex Dance Index (1080p; 34:21)


• Deleted Scenes (1080p; 9:22)

Step Up All In Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Director Trish Sie has the courage to actually just plop her camera down and let the dancers dance here, without the benefit of the sort of quick cutting techniques that populate a lot of musicals or concert videos these days. Unfortunately, she also just plops her camera down during some pretty turgid "dramatic" material in between the big dance sequences, and that's where Step Up All In stumbles down all around pretty precipitously. For those interested in this title, technical merits are excellent.