Dance Battle: 2 The Streets vs 3D

I just watched Step Up 3D and here're a battle between it and the previous installment.

THE TITLE

2 The Streets vs 3D

Both titles are corny plays on the sequel number. The second installment disguised "to" as "2" to convey the transition from the walled establishments of MSA "2" the Streets. This is alot morel, simply appending the letter "D" to the end of "3". Yes, the movie is in 3D, but that's too obvious. Step Up 2 wins for 3's sheer lack of creative effort.

Advantage: Step Up 2

LEAD CHARACTERS

Chase (Robert Hoffman) vs Luke (Rick Malambri)

More commonly known as the "dudes" in the movie, I didn't really pay much attention to this battle. I felt they were interchangeable in terms of actors, but I'm going to give the nod to Luke because his stakes were way higher and looked less like a member of the Backstreet Boys.

Advantage: Luke @ Step Up 3D

Moose vs Moose 3D (Adam Sevani)

The only returning character is Moose played by Sevani, who is adorable as ever and even a better dancer. He was able to showcase more of his repertoire and his rendition of "Singing in the Rain" was both refreshing and classical.

Advantage: Moose 3D

Andie (Briana Evignon) vs. Natalie (Sharni Vinson)

Despite both dancers showing quite a bit of boobage by way of push-up sport bras, Andie runs away with this one. She's prettier, younger (by 3 years) and sassier than her counterpart. Dance-wise, Natalie takes it, but she's just too far behind in the other aspects to catch up.

Advantage: Andie @ Step Up 2 by at least 20 miles

CAMEO APPEARANCE

Tyler Gage (Channing Tatum) vs The Asian Girl (Mari Koda)

The Asian girl provided one moment of comic relief with her trademark "I don't have accent", but she was from Step Up 2 to begin with. Channing Tatum appearing in Step Up 2 and actually battling Andie still rocks as the overgrown vanilla gorilla who can dance.

Advantage: Channing Tatum @ Step Up 2

OTHER

Final Dance Scene vs Final Dance Scene 3D

Light-up clothing is cool, but that just reminds me of LA Gear and children wear. Not exactly the most bad-ass gimmick for a dance battle. In Step Up 2, the soundtrack to the final battle scene was a lot more powerful and the fact that it was done outdoors in the rain really amped up its epic-ness. I don't even remember the beat to 3D's final scene.

Advantage: Step Up 2

Jon Chu vs Jon Chu 3D

Chu really packed in a lot more dance scenes in 3D. I guess he had no choice considering the lackluster storyline and less than capable actors he was working with. There were some new talents in 3D, but they weren't as jaw-dropping or awe-inspiring as 2 the Streets (except for Robot Man... that dude is off the hook!). Also, it seemed like the 3D technology forced some questionable shot-selection in the film. It didn't look as natural or explosive.

Advantage: Step Up 2

FINAL VERDICT

Although it looks like Step Up 2 is the runaway winner (and it is), that's not to say that 3D was bad. It wasn't as good, but it was still enjoyable. Just don't go see it for the story; see it to feel a rhythm in your heart and feast upon the beauty and seemingly impossible movements of the human body.

A word to film-makers not named Cameron, just drop the 3D glasses thing. It's cramping some of y'all's styles!

WINNER: Step Up 2 The Streets