The Step Up to 3-D Is No Step Up for "Step Up 3D"

The dance battles that structure the Step Up films are all about "the move" — the one unexpected, mind-blowing, totally impossible move that ends a competition and raises the game. The franchise itself has attempted such a maneuver with its third installment, Step Up 3D. Meant to take the scrappy and often ingeniously choreographed dance sequences to the next level, the result is stalled between floors: Some sick moves get even sicker; some become distorted and freakishly distracting. Some previous cast members return, including Moose (Adam Sevani) and Camille (Alyson Stoner), NYU freshmen whose friendship is tested when Moose is recruited to help a local dance crew win a really important thingy. Also recruited is Natalie (Sharni Vinson), the mysterious designated hottie who is not all that she seems. For all of the film's technical dazzle, this is blissfully old-school.