Step Up – All In: Blu-ray Review
The Movie:
Miami street dancer Sean Asa (Ryan Guzman) moves to Hollywood with visions of fame and fortune, only to discover the almost insurmountable odds of making it in the professional dance world. But when the new dance crew he forms with the beautiful and headstrong Andie West (Briana Evigan) reaches the final rounds of a high-stakes reality TV competition in glittering Las Vegas, he has a shot at finally making his dreams come true – if he can set aside old loyalties and long-time rivalries and just do what he loves most: dance.
It may be a shock to a lot of people out there that one of my guilty pleasures is the Step Up franchise. I’ve seen every previous entry and have actually really dug them so far mainly for the intricacies of the dance numbers. This was no different than the others as far as taking the impressive dancing up another notch. I mean seriously, when I say that the dancing has gotten better and better I truly mean that. I’m actually out of breath just thinking about trying to pull off some of the stuff they do. I think this franchise has put itself in a spot where every film they put out has to top the previous and they’ve done pretty well so far. As always you can spot alumni for So You Think You Can Dance throughout the film and it’s really cool to see them go from that show to a film like this. The story itself will be REALLY familiar to people that have watch any of the other films. It’s the usual: Guy with nothing left to lose, gets a dance crew together, enters a dance competition against all odds. Honestly though, that’s the last reason why I would watch these films but this one in particular was a bit more solid than the other sequels. The chemistry between Guzman and Evigan was great and you can honestly believe them as they dance with each other and as they are in conflict with one another. This is great film if you’re looking to be impressed by some awesome dancing but if you’re looking for story then you’ll find what you’ve seen before most likely. Either way this is worth checking out even if you’re the slightest bit curious.
Special Features:
All In With the Crew – A look at the making of the film that includes interviews with the cast and crew.
Dance Breakdown: Final Stage – A quick look at the preparations for the dance in the final act of the film.
Clap, Stomp, Slide: The Sounds of Battle – This feature takes out all of the music and added sounds of the dance numbers and singles out the sounds and stomps you hear coming from the dancers themselves.
The Vortex Dance Index – This takes you right into every dance number in the film.
Deleted Scenes – A good number of scenes here that were understandably cut from the film but are a nice bonus if you choose to check them out.
