Review: Step Up 3D (12A)**

Jon Chu's glossy sequel goes for broke, incorporating intricate and witty choreography with special effects and outrageous camera angles.

Judged purely on its fancy footwork and synchronised moves, Step Up 3D is the best dance film of the year and the third film in the series takes full advantage of the eye-popping format – every set piece has been crafted so that dancers' limbs emerge from the screen.

However, for all of the head spins, gravity-defying somersaults and body-popping, the third instalment is also one of the worst films of the year, based on the script and performances.

Amy Andelson and Emily Meyer's screenplay reeks of clichs and sappy sentiment and if they are capable of writing a plausible line of dialogue, the cast wouldn't be able to deliver it convincingly anyway.

Almost without exception, the dancers seem to possess little acting ability and say their lines in lifeless monotone.

Luke (Rick Malambri) is an aspiring filmmaker, who owns a warehouse in New York City called The Vault, where young dancers

live together and hone their craft, performing as The Pirates.

Rent on the property is months in arrears and unless Luke can find the balance quickly, dancer Julian (Joe Slaughter) from rival troupe The Samurai will buy the warehouse at auction.

As luck would have it, the World Jam is just weeks away with a first prize of $100,000.

Luke gathers together his troops and adds NYU freshman Moose (Adam G Sevani) and sex bomb Natalie (Sharni Vinson) to the mix, while secretly cutting together a documentary about how dance has changed these young people's lives. Moose is the Pirates' secret weapon but his allegiances are torn between his passion to dance and spending time with best friend Camille (Alyson Stoner). We weep tears of unintentional laughter at Luke and Natalie's clunky romance and continue to smirk as best friend Jacob (Keith Stallworth) dispenses nuggets of wisdom.

Scenes involving Sevani and Stoner are the most credible and they share the film's best dance sequence: an expressive duet to Frank Sinatra's I Won't Dance, Don't Ask Me, captured in a breathtaking single take.

For their co-stars, it's more a case of "I Can't Act, So Don't Ask Me".