StreetDance 3D

'StreetDance 3D' is pretty much another dance movie of the current crop of recently released dance films such as 'Step Up'. Now, if one likes dance and energy, such as myself, they can enjoy this one. The story is easily predictable and it doesn't have anything new to offer but I felt that it was well told and the viewer does care for the characters. There's plenty of energy, drama and lightness to entertain. The acting of Nichola Burley and co is very good. Charlotte Rampling also does a fine job as the encouraging kind-hearted teacher. However, the highlights of 'StreetDance 3D' are the dance sequences. Each of the actors/ dancers give their all to the performances exuding energy, passion and love for music and dance. The refreshing and innovative combination of ballet and streetdance is wonderful to watch. I didn't see the 3D version but I doubt that it would effect my liking.

I was really entertained when I watched this in the cinema. The story is nice enough (yes clichés ahead, but it's a picture about dancing, about overcoming odds, you expect it to have a few), with obstacles build in the way, that you will expect and predict, but all told nicely. And it did not originate from the US, which came as a surprise to me (since almost every dance movie minus the Bollywood fare, seems to be made in the US)!

I liked the acting (for the movie that it is) and the dance scenes were good enough, to be told in 3-D. Though I have to admit, that there are a few sequences in the new Step up, that easily put anything to shame that is shown here. But in contrast to that, the story here is more solid, more believable (in my eyes). Nice entertainment and unfortunately overseen at the Box office (at least that's what I heard)

"Streetdance," to an extent, shares the same problem as other movies about dance. When the first dance movie (which was probably "Save the Last Dance) appeared, it seemed fresh and original not least of all because of the choreographed dance routines. But now the genre of dance films can do little more than repeat the same formula and the result is a bit tedious. Incidentally I had a similar reaction to the martial arts films. The first Karate Kid was great from beginning to end. But the spectacle and energy of these martial arts film soon faded and even the attempts to spice up the genre with explosions and shoot outs did not quite work.

So does "Streetdance" suffer from this trend? Yes. But does "Streetdance" also make up for this fact? To a surprising degree, it does. There is not too much to be said for the plot which is riddled with so many clichés, including the climatic little dance battle at the end, that it appeared to be recycled from the "Step Up" genre. Yet it is fresh in some respects. Nichola Burley, for example, brought something new to her performance as the head of the streetdance group Carly who also has to help ballet dancers bring some fire to their performances. Nichola is genuinely likable, sweet and fun all at the same time and these traitsallow her to get away with saying some very ridiculous grandstanding speeches like (I'm paraphrasing) we are going to combine ballet and street dance and "create something beautiful." If a lesser actor, like Amanda Seyfried, Megan Fox or even Kat Dennings, spoke like that, it would never seem believable. But Nichola miraculously makes scenes like that work. Nichola is also aided along the way by other likable characters like the implied love interest Tomas (Richard Winsor). Charlotte Rampling, who played one of the heads of ballet school Helena Fitzgerald, delivers the kind of great performance one would expect from someone with her calibre, even though she is unfortunately not given much to say or do. "Streetdance" also has some memorable scenes, such as the one where two street dancers pretending to be manniquins communicate with a little boy, who is also a great street dancer, through the medium of dance. Another memorable scene has Carly and her co-worker turning their mundane job of making sandwiches into a dance routine, which was kind of neat.

6.3/10

I am not a big dance movie fan, but I have to admit this mix of the somewhat raw energy of streetdance and the controlled grace of ballet is enjoyable.

First and foremost the brilliant streetdance choreographies are what make the movie worth seeing. The story on the other hand is mostly very predictable and does not offer anything new. I also have to say, that I think you can just as well see this film in the normal version as there were only two scenes with motion directly towards the camera. To me that is the only big difference the relatively new 3D technology makes. I always enjoy when objects or people seem to leave the screen and fly directly towards me.

In a movie where most of the time a lot of people are in motion, I would have expected more of that and think it could have been achieved easily by using more different camera positions. Of course that is much easier in the animated movies, such as Avatar or How to train your dragon. A few mouse clicks did the trick in those cases. But I guess as filmmakers are learning to adjusts to this, we might see more true 3D shots in the sequel.

This could very well be the easiest review I've had to write. Do you like dancing? More particularly, do you like street dancing? However you answer this will determine if StreetDance 3D is for you. There's not much more to it really.

Those who enjoy eclectic, off-the-wall break-dancing will have great fun with the plethora of set pieces on offer here, especially the routines performed by previous Street Dance Championship winners The Surge (clearly a real-life dance group) who were engrossing to say the least. On the flipside, if you replied no to my previous question then perhaps you should steer clear. You won't be able to look past the atrocious acting – everyone from b-girl wannabe Burly to the sincerely out of place Rampling to the total cheeseball Winsor are on extremely poor form – the wafer-thin plot or the laughably rubbish dialogue all for the sake of some killer moves.

Strangely enough this is the first British 3D film to be produced. Thankfully it wasn't just tacked on at the end similar to what we saw in Clash of the Titans or The Final Destination, but the movie was actually filmed in digital 3D, thus utilising the feature to decent effect. It's arguable that a flick like this overly benefits from the extra dimension, however the additional depth is definitely noticed in a few of the dance segments.

With a thumping soundtrack and a range of enthralling dance sequences, StreetDance 3D could be the perfect no-brainer movie for you.

3 out of 5 (1 - Rubbish, 2 - Ordinary, 3 - Good, 4 - Excellent, 5 - Classic)