Step Up 2: The Streets was Chu’s first directed function, 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.
You probably have seen one Step Up film — or any dance film normally, to be sincere — you might be accustomed to the plot. And neither Step Up 2: The Streets nor Step Up 3D will transfer the dial a lot; because the crucial consensus (topping out on Rotten Tomatoes at 46% with the third film) can attest, when you’ve seen one, you’ve doubtless seen all of them. A dancer caught between two worlds, compelled to adapt however dreaming of one thing they really feel deeper. In the end they discover the fusion of two types, and (gasp!) win the competitors/showcase/emotional battle they’ve been preventing. However that’s all to say: We’re not expecting 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 massive and flashy — examples of what films can do to really 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 3 are extra in keeping with older Hollywood dance sequence traditions: lengthy takes, to raised emphasize the talent and hold the movement going. All give attention to the flowery 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 let you simply genuinely admire the artistry. Whereas the story of dance films will be stiff, the narrative bursts of ardour in a ultimate dance showdown or purely as an indication of stakes and persona are the place they snap into their groove (each halves reminding you that we come right here to look at dancers carry out, even when that additionally means watching them carry out performing).
Personally, I’m most a fan of Step Up 3D, with dance sequences pushed by little bites of character, allure, and greater than somewhat impracticality. Whether or not it’s a Fred Astaire-remixed oner down a New York avenue benefiting from props, a pointy tango, or simply one other unattainable cinematic loft offering a observe area, Chu lets 3D discover its footing by loosening the material of actuality fully in these moments and discovering one thing more true. As he holds the digital camera’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 at the moment are streaming on Hulu.