Review by Stuart Barr
Stars Falk Hentschel, Sofia Boutella, Tom Conti, George Sampson, Stephanie Nguyen, Ella Wragg, Lee Craven, Joanna Jeffrees, Daniel Braveboy, John Duggan
Written by Jane English
Certification UK TBC | US TBC
Runtime 95 minutes
Directed by Max Giwa & Dania Pasquini
The first StreetDance film in 2010 was a lot of fun. The first British film shot in full 3D (not converted in post-production), it had a slightly ramshackle British TV feel about it which was endearing, and although the script and story were functional at best, it served as a terrific showcase for some really good and exciting dance sequences. It may not have been as slick and MTV-tastic as American dance movies like the Step Up or Honey films, but it struck a chord with British teenagers and rung up healthy figures at the UK box office. Of course such success has brought us this sequel, again in 3D but with a new cast of characters (although George Sampson and Flawless return).
StreetDance 2 is a significant advance on the first film in almost every department. While the story is as perfunctory as ever (in fact it may be more perfunctory this time around), the direction is more polished, the 3D more impressive, and most importantly the dance scenes fizz with enough energy to light up London.
Ash (Henshel) is an American street dancer living in London. He tries to make a name for himself by challenging the established kings of the scene Invincible. Eddie (Sampson) is impressed by Ash’s chutzpah, and offers to manage him. The dynamic duo embark on a tour of Europe – travelling by map, Muppet style. They pick up a new dance crew and end up in Paris. But something is missing, they need a hook, a unique style so that they can successfully challenge Invincible. Ash discovers this in the shape Eva (Sofia Boutella), a salsa dancer. Her uncle Manu (Conti) also owns a local bar, and voila, they have a practice studio too. Let the battle commence...
It’s probably fair to say that a 3D dance film is not to the tastes of the majority of our readers, so let me try to sell it to you. Think of StreetDance 2, not as a “dance” movie, but as a martial arts film. The plot is exactly the same as a Tournament style kickboxing flick (one of the two great martial arts plots, the other being “you killed my father/mother/brother/sister/uncle/stole my statue, prepare to die”). There is a good guy, there is a bad guy, the bad guy humiliates the good guy (cue maniacal laugh). The good guy retreats to tend his wounds. The good guy gets a team together to get revenge on the bad guy. The good guy finds a mentor. There is a long protracted sequence of training events. They fight! It could be Van Damme in Kickboxer, but it could as easily be StreetDance 2. One of the irritating facets of modern martial arts films is the growing use of CGI and excessive wirework to allow actors with no fighting skills to look cool. There is none of that in this film; what you will see are some really physically talented dancers pulling off feats of incredible agility and skill without safety mats (well maybe there are some safety mats, but there are no wires). Whether it be Ong Bak or this, the thrill is the same.
And where Ong Bak boasted the amazing skills of Tony Jaa, StreetDance 2 has another ace up its sleeve, Sofia Boutella. Boutella has the makings of a bona fide film star. Her latin inflected dance moves are simply stunning to watch. Her introduction with an extended tango/salsa dance off in a boxing ring is fantastic. Boutella brings a sexiness and magnetism to the street dancing witch the first films ballet fusion did not. The Latin influence also improves the musical accompaniment in my opinion.
Conti doing his outrageous Shirley Valentine accent (is it Greek, is it Spanish, is it French, who knows) and Sampson bring some much needed humour. And of the dance troupe, Elisabetta Di Carlo makes a strong impression (you wont miss her, she’s the one with the great body art).
Returning directors Giwa and Pasquini clearly learnt a lot from their experience on the first film, and really know what to do with the 3D. The fact that 3D doesn’t work well with fast editing is an advantage, as the dance scenes are done in long takes with restricted camera movements that really make it clear that the audience is watching real athletes at work. The directors are not adverse to having fun with the format either – a pillow fight is hilarious in 3D, feathers floating in front of your nose (I nearly sneezed).
As a reviewer, one owes it to any film to ask “is this successful at what it is trying to do”. In other words, don’t slam a western for having cowboys in it, or a horror film for being gory. StreetDance 2 is a dance film, and as such, is a very good one. Sure it has barely any plot at all, but the purpose of a dance film is to showcase the dancing, and that is does very well. Honestly (and I’m talking to the boys here) give this a go, put your prejudices to one side … it may very well surprise you.