Friday, July 27, 2012
Step Up Revolution
Perhaps inspired by Improv Everywhere,
flash mob
phenomenon has gone viral in large cities in recent
years. Regardless how many flash mob events you have
participated, witnessed, or just watched on the Internet,
you will be charmed and awed by the fantastic dance routines
in director Scott Speer's
entertaining "Step Up
Revolution."
(USA 2012 | 106 min.). This is the fourth
installment in a thriving Step
Up franchise, and this film takes flash mob performance
to a whole new level.
The film is set along a spectacular beach front in Miami. With washboard-abs flashed often, eye candy Sean (Ryan Guzman) and his buddy Eddy (Misha Gabriel Hamilton) lead a flash mob dance troupe called "The Mob." They orchestrate a series of stunning street performances in Miami hoping to win prize money in a competition on Youtube. At a beach party, Sean meets an aspired dancer Emily (Kathryn McCormick), the daughter of a real estate developer Mr. Anderson (Peter Gallagher). They quickly fall in love, and Emily joins the Mob to find inspiration for her upcoming audition. Soon they learn Mr. Anderson's plan to build a new skyscraper luxury resort that will evict the Mob's neighborhood. The Mob fights back with an occupy-Wall-Street spirit, Broadway-production-quality uniforms, and energetic choreography. Everyone can guess what the outcome is—the story line is clearly the weakest link in the movie. It awkwardly tries to connect the flash mob dance performances together. As for the characters, they are like center folds of a magazine, only good to the eyes. Once the dance starts, nobody cares what the story is. Each dance move literally jumps at you, in a best utilized 3D effect, and makes you wish that you are part of the Mob.
Not only the music and dance is terrific, the cinematography is also perfect in the film. The camera composes each frame flawlessly and captures the energy and beauty of each dance. Ironically, even when the Mob performs a protest dance, many shots have Miami's high-rises in the backdrop, because it surely looks amazingly beautiful. Never mind those skyscrapers are precisely what the Mob is protesting and tries to stop. So, forget about the story line, enjoy the dances, taste some eye candies, and have a good time. "Step Up Revolution," a Summit Entertainment release, opens on Friday, July 27, 2012 at Bay Area theaters.
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