Step Up China

Really, I was trying to figure out what was going on but it was throwing invalid characters.

The fact that it presents the love relationship in the plot a little differently is interesting, but the script has many gaps. Does not let you bond with any character.

The choreographies are quite boring even though they last less than before. It generally seems like the whole movie did not work properly.

I found this painful to watch. I love the Step Up movies.. I'm 48, so I certainly don't watch them for the plot (which all include trite love story, animosity between two gangs or teams, and some type of struggle for acceptance). I watch for the excellent dancers and great music. But.. where was that. The dancing is poor, the music is poor, so there is nothing left. You're better spending your time watching the trees grow outside than watching this. Such a waste of effort. I couldn't even write a spoiler for this because the whole film is so flimsy.

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Unlike other reviewers, I watched the trailer before watching the movie. I knew what I was getting into. The only reason I watched the movie after seeing the trailer, if I'm going to be honest, was because of Sean Lew. He is an amazing choreographer and dancer, not only was he the assistant choreographer for the movie but he also starred in it and he was only 15 or 16 years old then. We definitely didn't get enough of him in this movie, high hopes for his future in dance and acting. I also wanted to see Janelle Ginestra, Jade Chynoweth and Joshua Taiwan Williams. Again, not enough of them in the movie.

Taking away those personal preferences, honest opinion of the movie: It's not great. The script and dialogue is underdeveloped OR badly written. The movie is also dubbed in english, no subtitles. Might have been a mistake because we might have lost dialogue and feeling (not likely) by that choice. We'll never know. I just feel like this movie is a perfect example of why asian people have the stereotypical reputation of being unemotional, cold and robotic. One judge even sounds exactly like a robot AFTER being dubbed. Bad acting from that one all around, even her voiceover person.

I watch movies because they evoke emotions in me. This movie did nothing to me, the only emotion it gave me was happiness from seeing people I recognize and dancers I like to follow. That is not a good sign for the movie. Can we also talk about the cinematography? What was up with that?! Weird close ups that were way too close, unnecessary slow motion, etc. Yeah, not a fan. The soundtrack is pretty good and the dancing/choreography is alright but could have been more out there. All I'm saying is that I've seen amazing stuff from the choreographers (Willdabeast and Janelle, as well as from their assistant choreographer, Sean Lew) and it didn't really show here. I don't think that they had free reins completely, but that is just my opnion. Also, when the rest of the movie is so bad, it also brings down the dancing and choreography because you can't really get into it.

Lastly, would I recommend this movie? Not really. I got a kick out of seeing some of my favourite dancers in a movie, the rest of the time I basically just laughed because it was so cringy. If you want any of those two things... sure, watch the movie.

Oh, I didn't watch the trailer to be surprised! And I was really surprised! It was a typical, usual plot, and it made me cringe in some scenes. The dance steps are not catchy either. But overall, it was a good film if you have watched it in DVD/Blu-ray.