Step Up 3D
Step Up 3D is a 2010 American 3D dance film directed by Jon M. Chu and written by Amy Andelson and Emily Meyer. It serves as a sequel to 2008's and the third installment in the Step Up film series. The film sees the return of Adam G. Sevani and Alyson Stoner, who portrayed Moose from Step Up 2: The Streets and Camille Gage from Step Up, respectively. It also stars Rick Malambri and Sharni Vinson.
The film follows Moose and Camille Gage as they head to New York University, the former dancer of whom is majoring in electrical engineering after promising his father that he would not dance anymore. However, he soon stumbles upon a dance battle, meeting Luke Katcher and his House of Pirates dance crew and later teaming up with them to compete in the World Jam dance contest against their rival, the House of Samurai dance crew.
Step Up 3D premiered in Hollywood at the El Capitan Theater on August 2, 2010 and was subsequently released in the United States on August 6, 2010, by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, through conventional 2D and 3D formats. It was the second movie to feature the Dolby Surround 7.1 audio format theatrically, preceded by Toy Story 3. The film grossed $15.8 million in its opening weekend, the lowest opening of the first three films in the series, but went on to become the biggest box office of the series, grossing $159.2 million. It received mixed reviews from critics, with most praise towards its dance sequences and effective use of 3D, while criticism went towards the repetitive story and acting.
A sequel, Step Up Revolution, was released on July 27, 2012.
Plot
In New York City, Moose and Camille attend the New York University. Moose is majoring in electrical engineering after promising his father that he would not dance anymore. While touring the campus, he sees a pair of Limited Edition Gun Metal Nike Dunks worn by Luke Katcher, the leader of the House of Pirates dance crew. Moose follows the shoes and then stumbles upon a dance battle, where he beats Kid Darkness from the dancing crew House of Samurai. Luke takes him back to his place, an old warehouse converted into a club, to try and convince Moose to join his dance crew, with whom he teams up. Luke believes that with the skills of Moose and the rest of his crew dancers that they could win the $100,000 grand prize in the World Jam Championships contest to solve financial problems. After all, he is five months behind in the mortgage payments and the warehouse could be put for auction at any second, if they are not paid.Luke meets Natalie at the club and notices her dancing abilities, enlisting her to become part of his crew, but is unaware of Natalie's motives. Moose has to choose between his studies and dance, between a test and a dance competition. He goes to test, but seeing the paper and receiving a message from Luke, he rushes to the competition just in time.
Luke and Natalie become close as the movie progresses. Luke explains his true intentions with his recordings and dance interviews. Natalie is hiding the fact that her brother is Julien, the leader of the House of Samurai, and lies about everything but the love connection between her and Luke.
Natalie faces a hard decision between her love and her family. She confronts Luke and asks what happened with him and Julien. He says that Julien was a member of the House of Pirates, but has a gambling problem and he once wagered against the Pirates and threw the battle, so the Pirates kicked him out. After arguing with Julien, she decides to leave Luke rather than betray him further. Julien uses her phone to invite Luke for her birthday party. Luke asks Moose to attend the party with him, but because they have no invitation, they are not permitted to enter. They find a way to get in and Luke and Natalie dance a tango. Julien reveals Natalie's identity and Luke is angry with Natalie. When Luke arrives back at the warehouse, he finds it is foreclosed. Angry at himself for not being a better leader, he exclaims that the House of Pirates is over, and the crew members go their separate ways. Moose and Camille are best friends, but Moose does not see that Camille is in love with him. The two fall out after Moose shows up late to a party; the final straw after being distant with her since arriving at university.
Moose and Camille make up in the streets by dancing as Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers to a remix of I Won't Dance. Camille tells Moose that he can never give up dancing as he was born to do it. Moose helps out Luke by bringing the House of Pirates back together, and giving him additional members for his crew including Camille and The MSA Crew from . They discover that the former members are now performing with the House of Samurai. They also find out Julien is buying their warehouse, but says if they throw the battle, they can have it back, but they do not take the offer.
Natalie helps Luke and the Pirates win the World Jam with the routine they had practiced. She invites him to come with her to California, which he does by meeting her at the train station and kissing her just as Moose kisses Camille. Before leaving, Luke gives Moose the pair of Limited Edition Gun Metal Nike Dunks.
Cast
- Rick Malambri as Luke Katcher, the leader of the House of Pirates.
- Adam G. Sevani as Robert "Moose" Alexander III
- Sharni Vinson as Natalie, a talented street dancer who is recruited to join the House of Pirates.
- Alyson Stoner as Camille Gage, Moose's best friend
- Joe Slaughter as Julien, the leader of the House of Samurai and Natalie's brother.
- Keith Stallworth as Jacob
- Kendra Andrews as Anala
- Stephen "tWitch" Boss as Jason Hardlerson
- Chadd "Madd Chadd" Smith as Vladd
- Jonathan "Legacy" Perez as Legz
- Martín Lombard as Martin Santiago
- Facundo Lombard as Marcos Santiago
- Oren "Flearock" Michaeli as Carlos, A person in the House of Pirates
- Daniel "Cloud" Campos as Kid Darkness
- Shirley Henriquez, as part of the pirates crew
- Luis Alberto Rodríguez, as part of the Pirates crew
- Carolina Ravassa as Kristen
- Alberto Collado Aracena, as part of the pirates crew
- Jose Hernandez
- Tamara Levinson, as Bend
- Christopher Scott as Hair
- Harry Shum Jr. as Cable
- Janelle Cambridge as Fly
- LaJon Dantzler as Smiles
- Luis Rosado as Monster
- Mari Koda as Jenny Kido
- Levi Rivers as Spinner
- Danielle Polanco as Missy
- Jalen Testermen
- Angelo "Lil Demon" Baligad
- Simrin C Player
- Jose BoyBoi Tena
Soundtrack
"Squeeze It " by DJ Frank E was used in the official advertisement of the film.
Home media
The film was released by Touchstone Home Entertainment on Blu-ray 3D and DVD in the United Kingdom on November 29, 2010, in the United States on December 21, 2010, and in the Philippines on January 27, 2011.Reception
Critical response
Step Up 3D received mixed reviews from critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gave it an approval rating of 47% based on 120 reviews, with an average score of 5.08/10. The website's critical consensus said: "It may not contain believable acting or a memorable plot, but Step Up 3-D delivers solid choreography and stunning visuals". It also holds a score of 45/100 on Metacritic from 23 reviews, signifying mixed or average reviews. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film a grade B+.Keith Uhlich of Time Out New York named Step Up 3D the third-best film of 2010, arguing that it " the overpraised stereoscopic advancements of Avatar." In 2020, Uhlich named it the tenth-best film of the 2010s.