5.9 | / 10 |
Users | 2.5 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Everyone deserves a chance to follow their dreams, but some people only get one shot. Tyler Gage is a rebel from the wrong side of Baltimore's tracks--and the only thing that stands between him and an unfulfilled life are his dreams of one day making it out of there. Nora is a privileged ballet dancer attending Baltimore's ultra-elite Maryland School of the Arts--and the only thing standing in the way of her obviously brilliant future is finding a great dance partner for her senior showcase. When trouble with the law lands Tyler with a community service gig at Maryland School of the Arts, he arrives as an angry outsider, until his skills as a gifted street dancer draw Nora's attention. Now, as sparks fly between them, both on and off stage, Tyler realizes he has just one performance to prove that he can step up ...
Starring: Channing Tatum, Jenna Dewan, Damaine Radcliff, Josh Henderson, Drew SidoraRomance | 100% |
Teen | 59% |
Music | 25% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.34:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
English, French, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 1.5 | |
Video | 2.5 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
In the mid-2000s, dance movies became all the rage in Hollywood, boosted by the surprising box office performance of 2003’s “Honey” and the out-of-nowhere success of 2004’s “You Got Served.” Bringing hip-hop dancing to the masses, while offering studios low-budget entertainment to exploit, the films took flight, creating a profitable string of dramatically flabby efforts that bewitched younger audiences in the mood for flashy body movement and corny plots typically involving young thugs reaching their potential on the dance floor. While this type of story has long held position as the go-to plot for decades of screenwriting formula, 2006’s “Step Up” displayed atypical laziness and tone-deaf direction for a feature concerning the electric boogaloo secrets of the underprivileged. Although “Step Up” would go on to spawn three sequels (one released just last month), the original picture displays the most strained storytelling of the bunch, wrapping itself in wet gobs of clichés while encouraging dismal performances, wisely keeping the fancy footwork out in front to prevent a deeper inspection of its sleepy particulars.
While I don't have a DVD comparison handy, the AVC encoded image (2.34:1 aspect ratio) presentation doesn't offer much of a pronounced upgrade to BD, with a persistent softness that slips into blurriness at times, which could be revealing inherent cinematographic limitations. Still, fine detail is scarce, while mild filtering flattens the image some, keeping a filmic sense of grain at bay. Colors are adequate with costuming and stage decoration, allowed to communicate a wide range of hues, yet the BD looks on the dark side, muting true pop, while skintones come across erratic, losing human consistency. Edge delineation is troubling, removed entirely during evening sequences, with clotted blacks smothering the image. Print shows no sign of wear and tear.
The 5.1 DTS-HD MA sound mix is surprisingly conservative for such a music-heavy picture. Soundtrack selections take priority, filling out the surrounds with a pronounced hustle, yet the tunes rarely show compelling movement. The thumpy songs do provide a heavy low-end touch, keeping the bass booming. Dialogue exchanges remain frontal and accessible, ignoring more interesting moments of echo and distance. Voices sound meaningful, balanced well with scoring demands, remaining clean. Atmospherics are satisfactory without a circular grip, while masses of moving bodies sustain clear dimension, helping to appreciate the choreography.
Trying to blend a Big Show finale with a violent climax cribbed from "Boyz n the Hood," "Step Up" falls completely apart, draining the natural vibrancy of dancing by playing the ending so severely, trying to motivate characters who don't require such a drastic shove. I can certainly understand the appeal of the choreography, and Fletcher does her best to keep the body language fresh and free, yet she's so hopeless with the rest of the picture, it hardly seems worth the effort to pick out grains of frantic footwork in a film that doesn't have the sense to emphasize its best feature.
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