With more dancing and less Channing Tatum than the original, "Step Up 2 the Streets" offers the illusion of edgier fare than "High School Musical," but uses much the same formula to separate youngsters from their allowance. In this contempo fairy tale, an orphan girl and her bashful love interest learn self-expression through street dancing. Rather than mixing classical and modern styles the way "Step Up" did, this hip-hop-powered sequel is all about new moves, which should keep the kids coming back after the pic's initial Valentine's Day crush.
Tomboy Andie (Briana Evigan) belongs to an elite inner-city dance crew called the 410 whose latest prank -- invading a subway car posing as muggers and staging an inmpromptu dance show for bewildered passengers -- have gotten its members labeled delinquents by the Baltimore media.
Watching reports of the 410's "public disturbances" on TV that night, Andie's guardian (Sonja Sohn, the pic's only connection to HBO's gritty, Baltimore-based "The Wire") threatens to send the unruly orphan to Texas. As in the first film, the wayward teen lands herself at the Maryland School of the Arts, where her street-dancing style clashes with the institution's conservative methods.
By this point, it's clear the strait-laced dance academy is the sequel's only tie to the original, but fans needn't take down their Tatum pinups just yet. The hunky "Step Up" star returns long enough to make audiences swoon anew, challenging Andie to a dance-off. If she wins, the movie's over and everybody can go home. But if he wins, she agrees to take MSA seriously and attend classes without question.
And so Tatum reminds us why the first movie was such a runaway sensation, using trampolines to outdance the newbie. But even this display gives only the faintest indication of the incredible dancing in store. "Step Up 2" features nearly as much dancing as it does dialogue, and that's a good thing, considering the after-school special quality of its obligatory emotional scenes.
Tomboy Andie (Briana Evigan) belongs to an elite inner-city dance crew called the 410 whose latest prank -- invading a subway car posing as muggers and staging an inmpromptu dance show for bewildered passengers -- have gotten its members labeled delinquents by the Baltimore media.
Watching reports of the 410's "public disturbances" on TV that night, Andie's guardian (Sonja Sohn, the pic's only connection to HBO's gritty, Baltimore-based "The Wire") threatens to send the unruly orphan to Texas. As in the first film, the wayward teen lands herself at the Maryland School of the Arts, where her street-dancing style clashes with the institution's conservative methods.
By this point, it's clear the strait-laced dance academy is the sequel's only tie to the original, but fans needn't take down their Tatum pinups just yet. The hunky "Step Up" star returns long enough to make audiences swoon anew, challenging Andie to a dance-off. If she wins, the movie's over and everybody can go home. But if he wins, she agrees to take MSA seriously and attend classes without question.
And so Tatum reminds us why the first movie was such a runaway sensation, using trampolines to outdance the newbie. But even this display gives only the faintest indication of the incredible dancing in store. "Step Up 2" features nearly as much dancing as it does dialogue, and that's a good thing, considering the after-school special quality of its obligatory emotional scenes.
