Metascore

Mixed or average reviews - based on 22 Critics What's this?

User Score

Mixed or average reviews- based on 56 Ratings

  • Starring: Kathryn McCormick, Ryan Guzman
  • Summary: Emily arrives in Miami with aspirations of becoming a professional dancer and soon falls in love with Sean, a young man who leads a dance crew in elaborate flash mobs, called “The Mob.” When a wealthy business man threatens to develop The Mob's historic neighborhood and displace thousands ofs of people, Emily must band together with Sean and The Mob to turn their performance art into protest art, and risk losing their dreams to fight for a greater cause. (Summit Entertainment)
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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 22
  2. Negative: 3 out of 22
  1. Reviewed by: Amy Nicholson
    Jul 26, 2012
    70
    Step Up Revolution has again found some of the most kinetic talents in the country.
  2. Reviewed by: Alison Willmore
    Jul 25, 2012
    60
    Step Up Revolution is also not a movie you watch for its incredible story and dialogue. The film doesn't even share much connective tissue with its predecessors save for an appearance from Adam Sevani as Moose.
  3. Reviewed by: A. A. Dowd
    Jul 28, 2012
    60
    A troupe of guerrilla performers led by hunky Ryan Guzman stage synchronized routines on Miami's escalators and restaurant tables.
  4. 38
    Dance gets political in Step Up Revolution, the fourth installation of the popular movie franchise, which delivers plenty of spectacular fancy footwork in what is otherwise a flat-footed fantasy.

See all 22 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 12
  2. Negative: 3 out of 12
  1. I have to disagree with all the negative appraisals this movie has gotten. It's an excellent film. The dance routines are spectacular, the story is meaningful and coherent, the acting is more than competent, the cinematography is excellent, and there's a chemistry between the leads that charms. Moreover, the 3D really adds to the film. It improves the perception of spaces, objects and curves. I wish all the people who can't afford it would stop trying so hard to convince themselves and everyone else that 3D is a gimmick. It's an amazing advance. Or maybe you're all one-eyed and just can't see it. Expand
  2. To put it out there: No it's not a good movie in terms of acting, story, plot etc. but, it is fun which is why I'm giving it the score I am. So to get it out of the way, I'll talk about the negatives of the films first. The problems in this film shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone. The story and plot are pretty much non existent, what a shocker. Though, I do applaud the filmmakers for moving past dance battles. However, as unmemorable and cliched the plot was in the third movie it was better than the story and plot in this movie. The dialog in some parts was good but laughable in others. The next and last thing is the acting. Now this has been a problem for all the Step Up movies. The actors (specifically the leads) were always good at the dancing part that was required of their roles but when it came to the actual acting parts, they were all terrible. The same thing is evident here. While the performances between Guzman and McCormick weren't horrendously bad, they could have been much better. These two have potential, had they been under the direction of someone else they could have been good. I will say that there was at least some chemistry between Guzman and McCormick which was missing in the last film. There were also some nice scenes between them but, like every other Step Up movie the romance aspect gets shoved aside in favor of the dance sequences. I really had no problem with the supporting cast since none of them really had to do much. So now to the positives of the film. Like in the previous movie the dance sequences are exhilarating. They are incredibly well choreographed and they're the main reason why people come to see these films now. As I stated in my review of the third movie, this really sets the bar high for any dance movies in the future. The visuals as well are amazing and have improved from the last movie. These dance sequences were fun and engaging and thankfully took up 60% of the running time. The 3-D was definitely worth it. This is the way 3-D should be used and this is probably one of the best uses of 3-D this year (along with Prometheus and Avengers) as well as the past few years. It enhances the experience by bringing us into the dancing and feeling like were a part of it with diversions (like sand, water, and sparks being thrown at our faces) and dancers coming out of the screen into our faces. It helps that this movie was filmed in 3-D like Prometheus was. Director Scott Speer not only uses the 3-D effectively but manages to avoid the common pitfalls of it. Such us dimness, and blurriness. It's crisp, clear and bright. The setting is beautiful and it's nice to be out of Manhattan. The production designs were fantastic my favorite being the art gallery. That was just incredible. Scott Speer manages to get some nice shots of Miami that they look like they could appear on a postcard. In fact in some scenes while the actors were talking my attention diverted to the beautiful backgrounds with the nice palm trees and clear blue waters. The soundtrack was great, each song fit the dances perfectly and the danced to each beat perfectly and accurately. Conclusion: Like every other Step Up movie there was hardly a story or plot, some laughable dialogue, and some wooden performances. Everything else was great, the dance sequences were terrific, they were extremely well choreographed, the 3-D was used effectively, the production designs were good, the setting was beautiful, the leads at least had chemistry even if their performances were that great, there were some nice moments in the romance, and the soundtrack was just as good this time around. For the next movie, if there ever will be one. The filmmakers should either abandon a story altogether and make a 90 minute 3-d music video rather than trying to shoestring in a story to connect the films impressive dance sequences or actually hire real actors who can act and someone who can come up with a decent screenplay. If the movie had a better story, better acting, better screenplay, to accommodate the dance sequences this would have been an amazing film. For those of you who just want to see this movie for the exhilarating dance sequences and can ignore the horrible story, wooden acting, and sometimes laughable dialogue like me, you won't be disappointed and you'll probably have as much fun as I did. For anyone who is looking for a good story etc. look elsewhere. Expand
  3. They don't make these things to win awards. The plot is simple and cliched and the acting is borderline bad (they're dancers who can act, not the other way around). That being said, all the dance scenes are well choreographed and feature some catchy music. So if you know what you're going into and aren't expecting to have your mind bent like a Nolan film then you should be fine. I was dragged by a girlfriend and only contemplated running once. Expand
  4. Step Up doesn't offer anything beside quite eye-popping mob sequence. The 3D rocks big time, but it's TV movie, doesn't worth cinema viewing at all.

See all 12 User Reviews

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