Street Dance (2010)

Directed by: Max Giwa, Dania Pasquini | 96 minutes | drama, music, romance | Actors: Charlotte Rampling, Rachel McDowall, Eleanor Bron, Chris Wilson, Nichola Burley, Patrick Baladi, George Sampson, Richard Winsor, Tameka Empson, Sianad Gregory, Jon Adam Freeman, Lauri Brewster, Mark Tristan Eccles, Jocelyn Jee Esien, Jennifer Leung, Ukweli Roach, David Cunningham, Rhiann Keys, Brendan Conway, Teneisha Bonner, Daniella Masterson, Kofi Aggyman, Simone Liebman, Lex Milczarek

‘Streetdance 3D’ can boast that it is (or was) the first dance film in 3D. And while it’s hardly an exclusive these days – or a guarantee of an enriching, crushing movie experience – when a movie is made in 3D (see ‘Jackass 3D’), ‘Streetdance’ needs all the credit they can get. The film itself is a hotbed of clichés, contains – to say the least – little uplifting acting, and, last but not least, for almost half the film makes little impression in terms of dance moves. The hope then is that the 3D element could take the film – sort of like in ‘Resident Evil: Afterlife’ – to a slightly higher level and give the viewer a reason to go to the cinema, or to purchase the DVD or Blu-ray (supplied with those nostalgic red-blue glasses). The available extra depth is only used sparsely, although it must be said that the extra depth in the image always provides added value. It just remains fascinating to be able to perceive different layers and thus a kind of heightened reality. Overview shots of London – with, for example, the millennium wheel and Tower Bridge in the picture – or images of something as trivial as a bedroom (with metal bars of a bed, bedside tables and walls), literally provide whole new (because multiple) dimensions. Still, if the film had to rely entirely on the 3D effects, it would have been sad. Fortunately, the film gains some energy in its second half, and with its nice soundtrack and nice choreographies, it still manages to entertain.

Don’t expect to be blown away by an original story or captivated by interesting – or even believable – characters. No, the whole clash between, and later the combination of classical (ballet) dance and hip hop or street dance has already appeared several times before in dance films, such as in ‘Save the Last Dance’ and ‘Step Up’, and the obligatory romance between members of both groups – combined with the obligatory dance competition – is also getting quite old. But this would all be forgivable if the scenes that matter in the end, the dance scenes, were sufficiently worthwhile. But even this is not always the case. The viewer may have been spoiled by talents in television shows such as ‘So You Think You Can Dance’, ‘Holland’s Got Talent’, and ‘America’s Best Dance Crew’, but when the big competitor of the central group of friends in the the movie, a bunch of young men in uniforms called ‘The Surge’ appear, the performance isn’t particularly dazzling. Especially if you look at the dancers individually, nothing interesting or explosive happens. And the “hero group” itself doesn’t immediately dance for the stars, although this is partly a result of the story where they naturally have to grow slowly.

Still, it definitely gets better. When the street dance troupe have to show their skills to the ballet troupe they have to work with, each showing their individual style – such as “Puppets”, “Krumpen” and Breakdancing – it all kind of comes alive. And when a sudden, “unexpected” confrontation between the heroes and the boys of The Surge takes place in a nightclub, it becomes – despite the artificiality of the scenes within the story – even more exciting. The floor is cleared for the short battles between the two groups, the DJ provides catchy commentary on the moves, and tasty hip hop compilations and beats blare out of the speakers, with delicious deep bass that rolls through your stomach and encourages you to get out and about. jump your seat and join in. This trend also continues in the competition at the end of the film, where The Surge does some nice things – it is mainly the interaction that is nice -, our heroes manage to find an (ultimately) organic combination of ballet and street dance , and there will be a nice interim old skool surprise performance. Again the beats are nice and the moves interesting.

A series of nice dance moments, the picturesque images of London, and the always fun 3D effects (even with the inferior red-blue glasses) manage to hold the attention for some time, and it is also surprising to see character actress Charlotte Rampling in this mediocre, superficial production – in an uncharacteristically upbeat role – but it’s far from enough to brush off the film’s bad points. Anyway, where to enter the rehearsal room…