Step Up Revolution

Come close and let me tell you a secret...(that sounded a lot less creepy in my head)


I.
Absolutely.
Love.
The.
Step-Up.
Movies.


And I'm betting that deep down a few of you do as well. Their dancing is unparalleled in the movie industry and by unparalleled I mean utterly freakin amazing. 


And Step Up Revolution just raised the bar SO high.  


So here is the deal...we all know the story with these movies. Timid girl dances with some guy who just so happens to be in a rebellious crew. She wants to join to explore her more "unruly" side and in the process falls in love with the guy. Something happens along the way where they get mad at each other and reconcile with the power of dance at the end. It has been used time and time again. It is the same in this movie. And it's crap. Although I do have to give Step Up Revolution some bonus points for their slightly more important plot. This time around it's not all about winning some random contest where they text you the location mysteriously beforehand. No...this time around, the dancers are dancing for a community and using their dancing in a flash-mob style to protest a construction project that apparently is so big that it will completely wipe out a certain section of Miami.

When this dance scene is the worst (and I use that term very lightly) one 
in your movie, you know you have something special

Diiirrrrrrrtttttyyyy
Dancing

But in all honesty, that's what Step Up Revolution has going for it plot-wise. It wants to use dance as a tool to fight for something bigger than just the group dancing. Corny? Yes, very. But it leads to the creation of "The Mob". The Mob is the dance crew that is featured in the movie and they come up with these super elaborate plans to flash-dance at important places, bail before the cops come, and leave a piece of artwork that leaves their mark to show that they were there. Shutting down a major road in South Beach? Check. Sneaking into an art gallery and posing as art until the music comes on? Check. Disrupting a crucial business meeting discussing plans for the aforementioned construction? Check. [And I guess I should take this time to address a certain scene in the movie...at one point, they crash a party by throwing gas canisters into the crowd and emerge dressed in all black with gas masks. Clearly, this is eerily close to what happened in Aurora just a week ago, but people can't hold it against this movie at all. It was finished a long time before the tragedy and it was far to late to yank the scene. Just be warned and keep that in mind so you or any of your friends don't get offended.] But to sum up my point, the elaborate, almost heist-like flash-dancing gives the four-movie series a little bit of a new direction and is a breath of fresh air.

I actually really enjoyed the inclusion of some more contemporary
dance throughout the movie. But worry not, there is still plenty
of popping and locking, breaking, and spectacle

So what should I talk about next? There are basically two main areas left to address in this movie: the dancing and the acting...I'll start with the bad.

If there was no dancing in this movie and I was to score it purely on the story and acting, I would honestly give it a 3/10. The acting is laughable. Ryan Guzman (the male lead, Sean) is actually pretty good, but that's about it. Kathryn McCormick, God bless her heart, should stick to dancing. She plays Emily, the female lead, and is pretty bad. At one rally-the-troops point in the movie I was about to bust out laughing because she was trying her best Joan of Ark impression and it was not working. But damn is she sexy and HOT DAMN can she dance. Pretty much everyone else in the movie is terrible at acting, particularly the short guy (not sure on the actor's name). At one point where he is trying to be witty he spits out this line and I swear he was trying to sound like Batman. That time I could not hold in my laughter. So...yeah the acting is pretty bad. Probably the worst in the series so far. BUT...

Moose is back for a brief cameo and has one of the sickest moves in the movie.
I tried it last night in downtown Denver...Im currently in the ER writing this because
I blew out both of my knees. Thanks, Moose.

I'm not sure that any dance movie will be able
to top this one...

The dancing. OH MY GOD THE DANCING. Yes, I just all-caps raged there. You come here for my opinion correct? Well here is my opinion: there is a part of me that wants to give this movie a 10/10. If I was simply grading on dancing alone, I would be doing just that. Let me explain here...


I get chills when I go to movies. Literal, entire-body, hair-raising chills. The last time I got chills at the movies? Hearing Bane's voice for the first time last week in The Dark Knight Rises and another certain part near the end of that same movie. I get chills when there is emotional music on, when an incredible action stunt just got pulled off on-screen, when there is timeless acting being portrayed, etc. Basically when something cool, emotional, or mind-blowing is happening. 


In Step Up Revolution, I have never experienced so many chills in a single movie, ever. And that is the honest truth. The dancing starts off strong and only gets better and better. There is a flash-dance at an art gallery that might be one of my favorite scenes in any movie ever. It was so artistically done and I had the chills for the entire 5 minutes that it was going on. Now, I recognize that I tend to over-exaggerate...and maybe I am doing so here.  But I have the strength of mind to realize when I am mesmerized by a movie, and there are scenes in this movie, with the music volume turned up to 11, that I became entirely entranced. I could have watched these kids dancing forever. 

So...the secret is out. I love the Step Up movies. If you were at downtown bars last night and saw me, this would have been obvious as I was on a dancing high. I still am. The past couple of iterations in this series I have seen them, enjoyed them, and waited for the next one. As far as Step Up Revolution? I am definitely buying this one. 


And then I'm going to start a "Mob" at DU. I'm thinking maybe making our debut flash-dance at the Presidential Debate in October?  ;-)




Pros:

• Um....duh? The dancing. Has moves, stunts, and settings that may be unbeatable. As of now, this gets the title of Best Dance Movie Ever
• Everyone looks good. I dont want to watch ugly people dance...
• The flash-dancing is an interesting concept and adds a heist-like atmosphere to the movie
• Some cameos from past movies are awesome
• Miami was a perfect location
• But seriously...the dancing
• The music is nearly all original mixes and the volume for them is LOUD
• THE DANCING PEOPLE!!

Cons: 

• The acting is atrocious. Like laughably bad
• The plot leaves something to be desired, but that is to be expected in a movie like this
• There is a ton of dancing, but when there isn't dancing, the movie draggggggggggggggggsss on

Rath's Review Score: 8.5/10

It has been only one week since the tragedy in Aurora. Many people are wondering how they can help. I have your answer right here: 

Hans Zimmer, the composer for the original scores for movies such as Gladiator, The Dark Knight, Inception, and The Dark Knight Rises, has created an original song called, "Aurora". It is dedicated to the victims of the tragedy and 100% of proceeds go to them. I have bought it and listened to it several times. Talk about chills...it is an 8-minute-plus masterpiece and some of the best work I have ever heard him create. If you would like to help, this is how. Buy the song (either with the link below or on iTunes), donate some extra money if you would like, hit play, and close your eyes and let it take you to wherever you need to go in your mind. 

https://watertowermusic.moontoast.com/estore/embed/1336