Step Up 2: The Streets was Chu’s first directed characteristic, and he’d return to the franchise with Step Up 3D. And regardless of his later, grander musical work, it’s the Step Up franchise that has a few of my favourite Chu-directed musical sequences.
When you have seen one Step Up film — or any dance film usually, to be sincere — you might be acquainted with the plot. And neither Step Up 2: The Streets nor Step Up 3D will transfer the dial a lot; because the essential consensus (topping out on Rotten Tomatoes at 46% with the third film) can attest, in the event you’ve seen one, you’ve possible seen all of them. A dancer caught between two worlds, compelled to evolve however dreaming of one thing they really feel deeper. In the end they discover the fusion of two varieties, and (gasp!) win the competitors/showcase/emotional battle they’ve been preventing. However that’s all to say: We’re not looking ahead to the plot. We’re right here for the dance, the grind, the titular stepping up (to the streets or in any other case).
And on this entrance, Chu greater than delivers. His newest musical choices are huge and flashy — examples of what motion pictures can do to actually adapt musical theater, translating the stage’s vitality into the filmic language. For Chu, this usually means swirling cameras, quick cuts, and ambitiously staged numbers. In contrast, Step Up 2 and three are extra in step with older Hollywood dance sequence traditions: lengthy takes, to raised emphasize the talent and maintain the stream going. All give attention to the flamboyant footwork.
If his newer musicals have sequences that really feel like music movies, then the Step Up choices are the meat-and-potatoes showcases that can help you simply genuinely recognize the artistry. Whereas the story of dance motion pictures could be stiff, the narrative bursts of ardour in a ultimate dance showdown or purely as an indication of stakes and character are the place they snap into their groove (each halves reminding you that we come right here to observe dancers carry out, even when that additionally means watching them carry out performing).
Personally, I’m most keen on Step Up 3D, with dance sequences pushed by little bites of character, allure, and greater than slightly impracticality. Whether or not it’s a Fred Astaire-remixed oner down a New York road benefiting from props, a pointy tango, or simply one other unattainable cinematic loft offering a follow area, Chu lets 3D discover its footing by loosening the material of actuality completely in these moments and discovering one thing more true. As he holds the digicam’s gaze on the efficiency, we get to see one thing actually particular — and that’s earlier than we even get to the ultimate dance battle.
Step Up 2: The Streets and Step Up 3D are actually streaming on Hulu.
