Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		2.5

Stomp the Yard: Homecoming Blu-ray Movie Review

A shallow recreation of the original.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman October 1, 2010

Brought to you by Sprite.

Truth University. It doesn't get much more obviously cliché than that, folks. Fortunately, the first picture in the now two-films-strong Stomp the Yard franchise managed to overcome its abundance of clichés -- from the name of the university on down the line that allowed the audience to know exactly how the film would play out only a few minutes in -- with honesty and heart, not to mention solid filmmaking and energetic dance moves. Stomp the Yard isn't exactly a modern day classic, but it holds its own and is probably the best of the recent craze of dance-inspired movies. It didn't really need a sequel, but that all-too-enticing direct-to-video and make-a-quick-buck marketplace proved too tempting, and Stomp the Yard: Homecoming is here to bring its moves back to Truth U for another round of competing frat houses and, yes, plenty of learning that doesn't come from books, but instead from life experiences as seen through the prism of stomping the yard. It all sounds well and good; it's just too bad that this remake, er, sorry, sequel, never finds the same rhythm, sincerity, and fun factor as the original.

Who knew stomping could be so dangerous?

School's back in session at Truth University, and homecoming weekend is fast approaching. Chance Harris (Collins Pennie) is the top dancer for the famed frat house Theta Nu, but his life is about to get a lot more complicated at just the wrong time. Chance finds himself indebted to some thugs when a dance-off doesn't go their way. Fortunately, he might be able to pay them off if he and his Theta brothers can win this year's stomping competition -- brought to you by Sprite -- that will give the winner full tuition and, as luck would have it, just enough extra prize money to pay off any gangester thugs that might be breathing down the winner's neck. Chance is also finding it difficult to maintain his relationship with Nikki (Tika Sumpter) when an old flame, Brenda (Kiely Williams), appears on the scene. To make matters worse, Chance's father (Keith David) needs him to bust his hump at the family diner over homecoming weekend -- the busiest time of the year -- instead of wasting his time at a dance competition. Chance doesn't seem to have a chance in the world of once again finding, let alone maintaining, a balance in his life. It just might take an old fraternity brother to teach this youngster just what it means to be a member of Truth U's Theta Nu.

With a few tweaks and altering both the characters' names and the actors who played them, that plot summary could pretty much cover the original Stomp the Yard. When the original is already formulaic almost to a fault, it would follow that the sequel could only be more of the same, and indeed, that holds true with Homecoming. Stomp the Yard was as predictable as the sunrise, but it countered its predictability with heart, energy, charismatic and sympathetic characters, and, surprise, an emphasis on making one's education a top priority. At Truth U, "education," of course, means more than hitting the books; it's as much about learning how to live as it is living to learn and earn high grades, and the first film nicely maintained a balance between the two. Homecoming not only completely ignores the book learnin' aspect of college -- does this school even have classrooms? -- but it also fails to cover up its predictability with those elements that made Stomp the Yard a success. About the only things that manage to surprise in Homecoming are those rare instances where a cliché isn't milked for all its worth. The end result is a movie that feels completely shallow and, worse yet, pointless. The first film's lead character, DJ (played by Columbus Short), could have been seen as an inspirational character of sorts for his perseverance both in the classroom and on the dance floor, but no such hero exists in Homecoming. Chance Harris is instead a one-dimensional character who barely makes it through the movie with something that resembles a story arc; that his father would rather he bus tables and take orders at the family diner than make something of himself at school seems dishonest at best, and the movie plays out with nary a hint of urgency or thematic relevance, instead seeming happy to focus on dance moves, a few pretty girls, and a painfully shallow plot that takes the film from A to B with no purpose along the way.

Homecoming does mean well; for as unbelievable as the father-son relationship may be, it does find a few generically touching moments, and the movie really does seem to want to find an emotionally satisfying resonance, but it simply never materializes. The acting is rather flat and the characters almost invisible; while the primaries were fleshed out in the first picture, they're barely developed in the second, with any traits acting merely as plot devices to get the story to its inevitable conclusion. The first picture was far more character-driven and played out as more of a human drama with dance elements as a centerpiece; Homecoming struggles to find a purpose outside the dancing, and the picture never does find its own identity as a result. The ever-reliable Keith David is the lone bright spot; he takes a mostly unlikable character and at least tries to give him a heart by the end, but the rest of the cast merely vanishes into the background. Even the dance choreography seems greatly lessened compared to the first Stomp the Yard. If there's one element to Homecoming that sums up just how poor a job it does from distinguishing itself from the first, it's the inclusion of Stomp the Yard hero DJ as a character in Homecoming. Just when it seems all hope is lost and that Theta Nu's about to tear itself apart, in comes DJ with his words of wisdom to and save the day. Even at its most crucial spot, the filmmakers couldn't do any better than to literally bring in reinforcements from the first movie to save the second. Columbus Short was good in the first movie and that his character is the real backbreaker in the second isn't his fault; he's just a victim of lazy and unimaginative scriptwriting.

Stomp the Yard: Homecoming Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Stomp The Yard: Homecoming serves up a good, but not great, 1080p transfer. The picture opens with a dance routine that's not only stylistically but also visually similar to that seen in the first. A pervasive darkness hovers over the image that features slightly desaturated colors, emphasizing a bleak and gray tone, accentuated by a textural grittiness. Detail is strong in this scene, as are blacks, and that somewhat muted color scheme lingers throughout the rest of the movie. Detail remains average-to-strong -- the texture of a leather jacket, facial intricacies visible in close-up shots, and the many brick walls seen around Truth University all impress -- and bright colors are pleasantly reproduced, even if the image retains that somewhat washed out look. Flesh tones appear accurate, and there is no evidence of unwanted compression artifacts or bothersome edge enhancement. This is a steady and seemingly accurate image from Sony.

Stomp the Yard: Homecoming Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Stomp The Yard: Homecoming pounds out a DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack than handles the bass-heavy dance routines exceptionally well while falling a bit flat elsewhere. The picture opens with a potent and smooth Hip Hop number that plays over a dance competition. Every speaker in the 5.1 configuration will sweat through a rigorous few minutes of intense activity, lending to the track a fine sense of space, precision, and clarity through the highs, midrange, and, of course, the pounding lows. Ambient crowd noise -- heard spilling from every speaker -- effortlessly places the listener around the perimeter of the dance floor. Every scene featuring heavier and intense beats shares these same traits, but the picture's more talkative stretches prove a bit less impressive. Ambience minimal; the track doesn't capture much of an atmosphere either inside the diner or around the campus, but dialogue and various sound effects remain clean, crisp, and mostly center-focused. Stomp the Yard: Homecoming is all about the music, and when it's on, the track's fantastic. When it's off, the track plays with a nonchalance that's just enough to advance the movie but not really impress from a sonic perspective.

Stomp the Yard: Homecoming Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

At Truth U, classes don't matter, and neither do supplements; only a couple of extras of substance are included. Stomp The Yard: Homecoming features a commentary with Director Rob Hardy, Producer Will Packer, and Actors Collins Pennie and Stephen "tWitch" Boss that's energetic and honest about the picture and their work on it. They discuss the dance routines, the actors and the characters they play, the realism they sought, stories from the set, and more. Stomp On the Yard: Choreography (1080p, 10:13) takes viewers behind-the-scenes of Homecoming's dance routines that aimed to both one-up the original picture and take stepping to the next level. Also included is BD-Live functionality; eight deleted scenes (480p, 11:11); and 1080p trailers for Takers, The Karate Kid (2010), Stomp the Yard, Obsessed, The Back-Up Plan, "The Pillars of the Earth," and To Save a Life.

Stomp the Yard: Homecoming Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Stomp The Yard: Homecoming isn't a terrible movie, it's just a complete disappointment that never does escape from the shadows of the original. It's not good, either, mostly because it lacks the two things that made the first a surprisingly solid movie: great dance moves and an underlying honesty about its characters and their plights that made the audience actually care about the outcome, even if it was never in doubt. That's not true with Homecoming; the characters are flat, the drama nonexistent, and the dance moves are unimpressive next to what was seen in the first movie. Sony's Blu-ray release of Stomp the Yard: Homecoming features good technical specs but only a few extras. Hardcore fans of the original will want to give this one a rental; others are encouraged to re-watch or watch for the first time the vastly superior first film in the series.