MOVIE REVIEW: STEP UP REVOLUTION

STEP UP REVOLUTION (P13)

Genre: Drama/Romance/Musical
Release Date: 02 August 2012
Running Time: 97 minutes
Distributor: Summit Entertainment (via Nusantara Edaran Filem)
Director: Scott Speer
Screenplay: Jenny Mayer; characters by Duane Adler
Starring: Kathryn McCormick, Ryan Guzman, Adam Sevani, Misha Gabriel, Peter Gallagher

Plot Synopsis:  Step Up Revolution is the next installment in the worldwide smash Step Up franchise, which sets the dancing against the vibrant backdrop of Miami. Emily (Kathryn McCormick) arrives in Miami with aspirations of becoming a professional dancer and soon falls in love with Sean (Ryan Guzman), a young man who leads a dance crew in elaborate, cutting-edge flash mobs, called "The Mob." When a wealthy business man threatens to develop The Mob's historic neighborhood and displace thousands of people, Emily must band together with Sean and The Mob to turn their performance art into protest art, and risk losing their dreams to fight for a greater cause.
REVIEWS AFTER THE JUMP

Review: [THIS IS A SHORTER-THAN-USUAL REVIEW CONTAINING MINOR SPOILER] Step Up Revolution is the fourth installments in the ever popular but also fatiguing dance film franchise – Step Up. It is extremely exhaustive when you considered that the franchise is only 6-year-old but already entering number four. Let’s do some recap – the first 2006 movie featured the real life husband-and-wife Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan who first infused the act of ballerina into the mainstream dance performance. Two years later, Step Up took audiences to the street and then in 2010, it started to go viral with those recoding videos and featured an international dance battle.

In the fourth movie, Emily Anderson (Kathryn McCormick), the daughter of a wealthy businessman arrives in Miami with aspirations of becoming a professional dancer. In one of those occasions, she meets Sean, a young man who leads a dance crew, called the MOB. The crew strives to win a contest for a major sponsorship opportunity. While their romantic relationship escalates (as usual, something is bound to happen), her father threatens to destroy the historic neighborhood and the entire community for redevelopment purpose that will displace thousands of people. Emily must band together with Sean and the MOB to turn their performance art into protest art or risk losing their homes and jobs due to Emily's father's project.

Over the last three films, the format of the plot has been very repetitive and formulaic that it is wise to say this fourth one offers nothing groundbreaking. Analytically, it is conceded with about three quarter of the movie is going to that direction. The script is thoroughly uneven, predictable, jagged at certain parts and barely connective; while it takes a lot of bumpy efforts to provide certain of the audience quarter some pure enjoyment. Fortunate enough, there are still room for rare originality and boldness in this movie, to have the flash mob concept served as a huge canvas for anything scripted for the signature and style.

MY RATING:

Story: 2.5

Casts: 2.5

Cinematography: 4.0

Effects: 3.5

GREEN-TEA-O-METER: 10.5/20.0