"Step Up 3D" - in theaters

First off, I saw this movie in 3D. I mean, how can you not? Especially considering that as you go into the theater, you just KNOW that the filmmakers are going to use every cheap 3D ploy in the book, considering it's a frickin' dance movie and not Harry Potter.

And it's true. Whether it was water, bubbles, or balloons, that "spectacular" third dimension was in full effect.

The Step Up franchise is really all about the dancing, so the plot is of little importance, and in the case of this film, extremely ridiculous. I enjoy a movie with plot holes that you can drive through, and this didn't disappoint. It centers around a group of dancers who all live together and run a club in New York City (right, like that's believable). They're all training for this huge dance battle, which will win them $100,000, and at the same time, get the bank off of their backs about their late mortgage payments.

This bothered me, considering that even though they were behind on the mortgage, they could still afford to buy zillions of pairs of shoes, film-making equipment, and video games. I mean, responsibility? Hello?

But I digress.

There are basically two main couples that the movie focuses on. Moose (played by Adam G. Sevani), who featured in the second Step Up, and his friend Camille (Alyson Stoner, from the first film), enroll in NYU for their freshman year. Moose's parents have made him give up dancing, but wouldn't you know it? He just can't stay away. Him and Camille are BFF, but you can tell that there's a little something else there as well. As Moose focuses more on dancing, he spends less time with Camille, not to mention his classes. But don't worry. This storyline gets wrapped up with a bow on top.

The second couple is comprised of Luke (Rick Malambri) and Natalie (Sharni Vinson). Luke is the head of the House of Pirates (no joke, that's their name) which is the dance house mentioned earlier. Natalie is somewhat a mysterious figure who joins the House out of the blue, and who kind of has a shady agenda. But of course, they fall in love. And she inspires Luke to finish his amateur film (which is where all that film equipment comes into play), and blah blah blah. What I found to be interesting about Natalie is that she almost looks exactly like the girl from "Step Up 2", down to the way she dances, dresses, looks, and talks.

But this movie isn't about the characters. It's about the dancing. And the dancing, for the most part, doesn't disappoint. My favorite is Twitch, from "So You Think You Can Dance" because that guy can MOVE. I also loved the robot guy, and if you see the movie, you'll know who I'm talking about.

So on the CWeave scale, I give this movie a 6.5. Bonus points for all the sweet dance moves, but points off to the Luke, mostly because he DOESN'T DANCE. At least, not the way that Robert Hoffman (from "Step Up 2") or Channing Tatum (from "Step Up") did. It's disappointing to watch the credits scroll by and see that he had a stunt double for everything. Not cool, man. Not cool.