Step Up 3D is a clichéd narrative nightmare but when its focus is dance the film works pretty damn well. The film, oddly enough, is also a saving grace for the 3D medium after a series of mediocre post conversions that have enraged many avid filmgoers.
The story for this installment of Step Up seems to be somewhat of a continuation from the second film (I never saw Step Up II: The Streets). Moose is a carry over from the second film, starting off his first year in college, and he is hoping to leave his dancing life behind for an engineering degree. But those plans are quickly tempted when he accidentally gets in a dance off and meets Luke. Luke, an inspiring filmmaker/dancer, owns a warehouse loft/club that houses a team of dancers, the Pirates, which mix multiple styles to form a unique identify to take on opposing crews. Luke recruits Moose to join the team for the World Jam Competition (?) and before you know it Moose’s life is all about dance again. Enter Natalie, a young and sexy dancer that catches Luke’s eye in his warehouses dance club and she too is recruited to join the team and serves as a potential love interest for the filmmaker. Looming over all of this is a debt on the mortgage for “The Vault” (Luke’s Club), which is being threatened to be bought out by the Samurai (a rival crew).
