'Step Up Revolution' shows little evolution

Dance, dance revolution: 'Step Up Revolution,' the fourth film in the franchise, is heavy on quality dance moves, and light on just about everything else. (Credit: Sam Emerson, Summit Entertainment)

Say this for the Step Up franchise: It doesn't practice false advertising.

Whether you're buying what this fleet-footed series is peddling is another matter. Because if you're interested in Step Up Revolution (1 1/2 stars out of four) for its plot and character development, you're out of luck.

But that's never been much of an issue for a franchise that launched Channing Tatum's career, spawned three previous films and has raked in more than $400 million worldwide. Clearly, Step Up's fans are there not for the dialogue, but the bump and grind.

And it's there aplenty in Revolution, a paper-thin story that plays like a music video on repeat.

Sean (Ryan Guzman in a tilted-cap homage to Tatum) leads a group of Miami flash-mob dancers who adroitly call themselves The Mob. That's about as clever as the movie gets.

Guzman's crew, a lithe posse that looks like it was plundered from the So You Think You Can Dance? set, holds elaborately choreographed dance numbers in the hopes of winning a YouTube contest.

But like a lot of organizations struggling with monetizing the Internet, The Mob faces its share of hurdles, namely the evil real estate magnate Bill Anderson (Peter Gallagher), who plans to raze the Miami neighborhoods where The Mob broke in its very hip sneakers.

Revolution tries a few plot moves, but, narratively, it has two left feet. The lovely and limber Emily (Kathryn McCormick) convinces Sean that The Mob needs to get political and stand up to Mr. Anderson, Emily's father.

Perhaps feature-filmmaking freshman Scott Speer was looking to say something about the G8 summit, or the Occupy movement.

Whatever that message may be, though, is lost beneath thumping bass lines and grinding pelvises. That's not a bad thing if you miss Soul Train and American Bandstand: There isn't a franchise around that matches the kids' moves in the Step Up series.

We just need a better reason to dance along.

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