If you have seen any sort of dancing or cheerleader movie you will always be three steps ahead of the plot. It's a simple story of an angry outcast who attends a new school and stirs up trouble. He immediately becomes sexually attracted (yes sexually attracted, the romance is extremely superficial) to a girl at his school, and develops a vendetta against some guy and by extension his entire frat basically because the guy is going out with the hot girl. He chooses not to accept their apology and so we have this movie, and our "hero". Somehow after this point, the plot keeps getting less and less interesting and progressively worse, until the credits role and we raise our hands in thanks. The one redeeming quality this movie has is the dancing. If you have a legitimate interest in dancing this movie might not be the tedious experience it is for most people. Chris Brown, the frats, and Columbus Short present very good dance moves, but between those dance moves there's very little that inspires or interests the viewer.In summary the plot is horrible, but the dancing is good. Don't buy the DVD.

When I first watched this movie, I honestly hated it. The storyline was, naturally, predictable and the acting was just alright. But I ended up watching the movie again and it grew on me. I love all the dancing and stepping, and I've learned to deal with the plot. It's really just the dancing that made this one of my now favorite movies. So Stomp the Yard doesn't have the best storyline. The good parts about this movie are the dancing, music, and might I add, all of Columbus Short and Brian White's fineness throughout, haha. If you love dancing movies as I do, then you should give this movie a chance. Don't let the poor rating fool you; for what it is, it really is a decent movie.

Another typical dance-musical movie, there's the drama and romance of course.At first, I found the choreography unfussy and nothing unique. On the later part, I found the Step moves extra ordinary and brilliant combination.I came to noticed that When Chris Brown was shot, nobody was there to console except for he's brother. I mean why does they're crew mate gone.I found no chemistry between Meagan and Columbus but as individual, they did well. Chris Brown performance in this film was notable. Ne-Yo was a good supporting cast.The cinematography and music were not bad, so-so.I found the climax notable because of the emotion divulges and he finally took responsible for his mistake in the past that result to the death of his younger brother. The ending was quite predictable besides of winning the competition he finally learns to think not only himself or his pride but also for the sake and success of his team. VERDICT:The story was typical, same old drama and romantically involved. Street dancers got into trouble, riot with other crew. Brother's friendship, younger brother dies.It reminded me of those dance flick movie such as you got served and drum line.However, still this movie was exceptional because the writers showed On how the guy changes his life by making best decision in life. On how he prevails over he's pride. That beyond the rivalry and competition, he pledge to the fraternity of a lifetime. That beyond the tradition, what matter is how the brotherhood helps each other to become a better man:+++

Director Sylvain White's STOMP THE YARD may not strike many as an ideal movie for the family to gather around and watch during holidays or other special occasions but it actually is because holidays are about reaping the benefits of tradition and this movie is about that too. It's not so clear at the film's beginning whether we're watching a violent video game or a demonstration of directorial genius. The distinction, however, soon becomes obvious and the genius apparent. The mesmerizing opening dance scenes come across a lot like video gladiator battle sequences. These give way to the urban realism of a more brutal ––and fatal–– L.A. gang clash after the not-so-lethal dance battle. DJ, played pitch perfectly by Columbus Short, loses his brother Duron (singer Chris Brown does an impressive job in this role) to a bullet in the clash and life as DJ knows it then comes to a screeching halt. After a brief time in jail, he leaves the West Coast for Georgia, where he moves in with his aunt and uncle, then enrolls in college. It seems like the perfect strategy for rebuilding your life but DJ has problems with the idea that he's living his brother's dream of going to college and that his own is not all that definite. Perhaps among the most under-appreciated gifted actors of his generation, Harry Lennix gives one of the strongest performances of his career as the no-nonsense-taking uncle who pulls DJ out of his self-pitying funk. Their relationship proves to be one of tough-love and mutual respect. It also provides a rare glimpse into how black male relatives often function as surrogate fathers to youth whose biological fathers for whatever reason are nowhere to be seen.The move from West Coast to Georgia might appear coincidental but in fact it is crucial to this film because DJ's move takes him out of a region of the country where historically black institutions like Clark University and Tuskegee Institute do not exist, and into one where their presence and legacy remains strong. The move to Georgia turns into an inner journey to his ancestral beginnings where ultimately he discovers the strength and integrity needed to cope with the grief over his brother's death and move forward with a vision for his own life.Once he becomes a student at Truth University, DJ initially demonstrates the same kind of arrogance and self-absorption that got him into conflicts back in L.A. But he also discovers the world of stepping, both a new form of dance for him and a cultural tradition going back to the establishment of the first black Greek Letter fraternities and sororities in the early 1900s during the Harlem Renaissance. He becomes determined to help his chosen fraternity, Theta Nu Theta, end a seven-year long losing streak against their rivals Mu Gamma Xi, and to win the heart of co-ed April Palmer (played beautifully by Megan Good). His efforts take him through an inspiring rites of passage during which he learns a great deal about his ancestral legacies and the advantages of sometimes working as part of a team rather than thinking only of himself. The culminating dance competitions in Stomp the Yard have to be seen to be believed and rank among the best in cinema history. Ultimately, this film is one that stands alongside "You've Been Served," "Drumline," and others that accentuate the life-affirming power and beauty of many African-American college traditions. In the process, it confirms and celebrates that same potential in all human beings. by Author-Poet Aberjhani, author of The Bridge of Silver Wings and Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance