Sexy Dance 5: All in Vegas

Skilfull dancers from Step Up movies past join together to compete in the Vortex dance tournament.

I've only seen two of the previous Step Up films coming in to Step Up 5: All In. Because of that, I think I may have missed the excitement of the character reveals during this film as it was quite clear there were performers or actors who had appeared in previous installments who had returned but I didn't know who who they were... Anyway, the story here is very similar to Step Up movies past. There's a love interest, a dance group, everybody has a falling out, then they come together to save the day. Same ol', same ol'. The story is hardly anything to write home about, but, the visual presentation is incredible! The colour, the special effects and the 3D was awe inducing at times. The dance choreography was impressive, I don't know another word to use. I'm not into dance, never had an interest in it but the dancing in this film combined martial arts, steampunk and body contortion which I was strangly drawn in to. The music I also found more engaging in this film compared to films past as it combined a variety of music from 80's to rap to salsa as opposed to just one genre. Compared to Step Up 4, this movie is equally enjoyable but I did find the dance routines in Step Up 4 had a much larger scale to them, more use of colours and lighting and was designed for 3D in mind so visually it has the advantage over Step Up 5. However, I enjoyed the styles of music and certain dance routines more in Step Up 5 plus the acting was noticably better I thought with a much more attractive and talented lead actress in Briana Evigan. She can move!

Final Verdict: I don't want to admit it but I actually enjoyed this movie.. I'm not into dance, I'm not big on musicals and yet I was glued to the screen... when they were dancing anyway. It's very much a genre movie and won't be for everybody. Impressive choreography and stunning visuals made up for a boring cliched story and the 3D effects were pretty good to.

Dancing, a simple act of motion that captivates so many people in the world. Hollywood has continuously created movies that encompass those gifted in this art, from classic musicals to today's modern competitions. One such series is the Step Up series, a film that many years ago lit a fuse that would revolutionize the dancing community. While the first installment actually had a decent plot filled with emotion, the movies to follow became diluted tales where moves, comedy, and predictable love stories became the emphasis. With its fifth installment releasing this weekend, this reviewer is back at the theater to see what was in store. Does Step Up All In defy the trend, or has it just taken its place as another dance flick? Read on to find out.

One thing that this series has going for it, is that the main characters are pretty in some way, and this movie is no different. Picking up from the Revolution, All In has a hilarious opening where hopeful dancers are forced to parade around in ridiculous costumes, or shirtless for some. Enter Sean (Ryan Guzman) the justice filled rebel from the last series, who somehow has become quite pig headed since moving to L.A. Guzman wasn't bad mind you, but his character's inversed morals were annoying, and lacked the emotional drive to back it up. Leading lady Briana Evigan helped a little, her qualities a bit more realistic and noble, but even her emotional drive was flat. The result, another shallow love story that seems to develop out of thin air, and have the depth of a kiddy pool. Perhaps it was just for the eye candy, or perhaps it was just something to give the primary age group to latch on to. Whatever the case, it was sweet, but nothing I haven't seen in a hundred other romantic comedies, luckily with less crying. Of course there are some other characters that help bail the movie out. My main man Moose (Adam G. Sevani) has returned to the fray to provide not only amazing moves, but comedy as well. As for the main "bad guy" of this tale Jasper (Stephen Stevo Jones), he is more of a tool than a serious threat, a mere wannabe with a crew whose moves were sick. Other fan favorites return as well, though like always they are more of background characters or a medium for the humorous dialog.

Putting acting and characters aside, let's talk a little about the story. Surprise, surprise it's plain, simple, and just as predictable as the previous installments. Some of the love is authentic and admirable; helping to address some issues in the process, but for the most part is rather bland. Putting romance aside, truth is that the overall plot is very lacking in both emotion and suspense. The situation is simply winning a contest, and while that can be very tense, is rather boring in this installment. A few twists were attempted to be put into the mix, blatant attempts to put drama into crew to get some ruse out of the crowd. However, the drama lacked tension and heat, issues blowing over in seconds with rather emotionless scenes. Even the backstories leading up to this were underdeveloped, and the fear they tried to instill was absent, again blowing over them with ease. Although I knew it was going to be a predictable mess, I was hoping there would be some better delivery of the inevitable conclusion.

The story isn't what you come to see in these movies though. As I, and the movie production team know, you come for the dancing numbers. Step All In does just that, as the crew brings intense moves on to the screen. From the get go, the gang performs numbers that will have fans amazed with their bouts of strength, flipping and twisting as if it were no big feat. Dance numbers are a blend of flips, twists, and pop and lock that flow into each other effortlessly, a tribute to the fine choreography. Many of the numbers are elaborate, with the participants clothed in themed outfits that are part provocative and matching the songs at the same time. Speaking of the music, All In smashes the speakers with intense beat that are mostly gangster rap, electronic, and a little R&B. While not as diverse as the previous movie, in both music and numbers, I found myself dancing in the seat, as I got lost in the bass filled moments. The edgy music goes along with the nature of the numbers, almost all of them a battle between the groups filled with fake punches, cheesy taunts, and hooting for support. Simple I know, but the special effects they pulled out were fun to watch and most likely would have come at you in the 3-D version. Only once or twice did I find the dancing irrelevant or misplaced, being introduced only to give the audience another filler before the main event. For most though, the relevancy of the numbers won't matter though, because it's just more impressive dancing.

Step Up All In is a fun flick to watch, and fans of the series will be purely satisfied and entertained. Again it's a movie made for those who like gorgeous casts acting out simple love and spending the rest of the time dancing. Such a simple formula continues to be successful, so there is a good chance it won't change. Yet it would be nice if the delivery could be tweaked in some manner to get rid of some of the cheesiness. Overall though, I would recommend waiting to see this movie at home, unless you are looking for a movie to go to as a group. My scores for this movie are:

Drama/Music/Romance: 6.0 Movie Overall: 6.0

I was having a good time watching this,just like the feeling i had watching the previous one. Despite the lack of storytelling -which i didn't really expect about it- the dancing scenes were all amazing and satisfying for all step up fans.If they add water and electric element to their dance moves on the previous movies,now they bring fire,sand,and wind -yes,lots of wind-.The thing i like the most is that the crews are back,your favourite characters like moose,jenny kido,and andie.Thats what keeps me excited watching this movie,and as a step up fan,im really satisfied.The final dance was breathtaking and excellent.i couldn't stop listening to the soundtracks now.If you like to dance and a feel-good movie,watch this one.

The fifth installment of Step Up is back in "Step Up: All In" with introducing more inventive choreography from expert dancer crews and containing almost all-star member of the series (minus Channing Tatum of course) into a dance competition in L.A. The movie brings a first class and entertaining show that is wanted from their fans. All the dances and flash mob are taken beautifully that has already been a trademark from all the series and what differentiates it from other dance movie.

Unfortunately there's a contrary and unbalanced between dance and whole elements in this movie. "Step Up: All in" suffers with mediocre yet predictable storyline, horrible written script, forgettable chemistry and some average acting from it's entire casts. The movie focuses only on the Vortex competition and how their ambition and preparations to win this thing without care less about anything that would bring boring moments and reduce emotional feelings for the character itself. In other words, this film felt stunning when it related to massive movements with loud R&B soundtrack mixed but once it touches drama and storytelling stuff, it's just that awful. Overall, "Step Up: All In" isn't a game-changer of the series, in fact it's definitely just a similar movie from the previous franchise with this time L.A as the background. It shows never-ending competition that is so exhausting to see, but as long as it still delivers spectacle and great moves, it seems would satisfy it's fans and safely stick them from their seats until end credits appear.

Away from Miami into another dance competition that is. This is a direct sequel to the last Step up, which hadn't happened yet. The character Moose seems to be in all of them (and he is except for the first one, even if you could swear he was in every single one of them, like I did and thought), but other than that, there didn't seem to be a string/continuity apart from a story that seemed to be the same over and over again ... something a reviewer has stated here ... forgetting that Step Up Revolution tried to break the formula.

If that was successful or not we do get most of the same players (good guys) from the previous one, still looking for a job (and love apparently). And that's where this gets back to the classic story. With one minor "dent" if you want to call it that, which gets fixed by the end of it. There are some slick moves and I'm pretty sure some of the things will look great in 3D (only watched it in 2D though). Don't watch it for originality, only if you like the "genre"