On the surface this romantic movie seems so formulaic one might pass it over unless a fan of each and every movie of this genre anxious to watch all of them over and over. A rich entrepreneur threatens the livelihoods of many struggling working people in Miami. His daughter has no interest in joining his empire and would rather become a professorial dancer. Her mentor becomes a low end male employee struggling to help his sister and niece make ends meet in Miami who works for her dad. The two leads of course face every obstacle thrown their way in the generic romantic movie and come out on top precisely the way those not fascinated by this genre expect. What makes this movie special is its superb film making. Every shot grabs the audience and keeps their interest. The seemingly trite themes are repackaged as meaningful for our time and the progress of the leads fascinating to watch. In the end one predicts the formula yet thoroughly enjoys every moment of the film.

I would give minus stars if I could. I'm surprised it has the rating it does. I never post my opinion but this film struck that big of a flat note for me that I feel the world needs to know. The "acting" is so terrible I am lost for words. I was on a 22 hr flight from Thailand and tried to get through this film. The dancing cannot save this film. They make soap operas look Oscar worthy. I was actually insulted by how terrible the acting was. Perhaps some training and an acting coach might have helped a little. Within 10 minutes I turned the film off and wish I could zap the memory from the horrible image of 'schmacting' like some cheap stale perfume in a rent by the hour motel.

The dance sequences were amazing, even though the car tricks were often overdone an impractical for the real events portrayed and the artwork supposedly done on-site in minutes probably took forty hours and lots of light management and flowing supplies. The primary protagonist is a local dancer who co-leads a crew and whose neighborhood is being bought up for development, a development whose models indicate that it is going to include at least half a dozen office/residence towers that will be at least twenty stories tall and one short one, that is about fifteen stories. This would doubtless provide jobs to several thousand people in the construction but also several hundred operational jobs created, maybe a thousand on going jobs, as well as places for thousands more to work and live. But all of that has to be set aside for the sake of a few hundred homes, most out of condition for sale otherwise, in the barrio.But don't worry because in the end the one portrayed as the "evil profiteer" - the developer - learns his lesson, sees the error of his ways (trying to create a profit, build businesses, provide jobs) and cancels this step forward in the machine that provides for his legacy and his daughter's well-being and financial future. After all, what is profit, business and opportunities for the people in the hood, and cash offers on their properties compared to the chance to keep their dilapidated houses?Still, the dancing is well worth it, the arrival of the Step Up 2 and 3 players is a joy to behold and the scenery ain't bad.

Okay, so I get it- this is a dance movie. Still, in the first 5 minutes I laughed out loud because it was just RIDICULOUS. I found myself asking one question the entire movie, "If most of these people don't have jobs, and the ones who do are waiters... how do they bankroll this whole thing?" There is almost too much evidence to validate this question, ahem, how many low riders were there in that first scene? A new costume for everyone, every flash mob? whoa, were those hundred dollar bills floating everywhere? I almost feel like its patronizing to bring all of this up. Undoubtedly all viewers found themselves asking the same question, don't lie. If you could get past that, then there are the massive plot holes, for instance, why would the mob be so mad when "Emily" and her idea single-handedly won the contest? Who the hell cares if Sean neglected to mention her family tree, my god, do you want the money or not BRO? I wonder about Sean's side kick too, why the hell was he a waiter if he was the computer-whiz kid who was so quickly dubbed "Hacker?" Seriously, you're a waiter? How bout that guy who doesn't speak... he has his own glass hauling truck, access to heavy machinery and exorbitant amounts of spray paint and can somehow manage to construct ornate "MOB" signs in what seems like only a few minutes. Pre-assembly must be a prerequisite if you're going to have that guys job. Damn he's good. I have an issue with their choice of location as well- if you were going to have a flash mob in a spot where you know there would be naysayers,and you are soooo concerned with getting arrested, then why would you choose a skyscraper, a place with only one way in and one way out that is likely full of security and other resistance? I couldn't believe that a second flash mob, thirsty for benjamins and blood didn't erupt when dollars started flying. Those Miami natives must all be doing okay for themselves if a cloud of bennies wasn't tempting. Lastly, I have NO IDEA how the dancers dressed like the police did not know it was beyond illegal to impersonate the police, especially at a press conference for a building ceremony. Lucky for them the Miami PD didn't get the memo and were not attending the ceremony- that is interesting. Also, what kind of guy works his butt off to be a billionaire only to roll over when 100 dancers happen to roll up and make your "already approved" construction project a little more of a headache. Seriously, that is bad for your street cred Mr. Anderson, but your hot rebel daughter evens things out a bit. Well played sir. To conclude, I have two words for Mr. Anderson, "Cleveland, really?" If you can stop yourself from asking a million questions during this movie then you'll notice that the dancing is pretty epic. Good luck, BRO.