Step Up 2: The Streets 2008

Matt Zoller Seitz, New York Times: Step Up 2 the Streets posits a universe where racial and class differences are minor obstacles to fun and pretends its cliches aren't cliches. Read more

Amos Barshad, New York Magazine/Vulture: Promises to hit all the urban-dance hallmarks with sledgehammer intensity. Read more

Nathan Rabin, AV Club: Stumbl[es] gracelessly from point A to point B and hitting all the expected notes in the process. Read more

Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: Only any good when people are dancing. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: Providing you're not hip-hop- or cliche-averse, see Step Up 2 the Streets with the right expectations and you'll be pleasantly surprised. Read more

Gregory Kirschling, Entertainment Weekly: It doesn't skimp on cool pretzel moves. Read more

Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: Completely predictable. Read more

Kyle Smith, New York Post: For all of its ragin' dance moves and rebellious talk, is high-spirited and harmless. An MC at one dance contest declares, "This ain't 'High School Musical'!" Oh, but it is. Read more

Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: The dance has to be good because the rest of the movie is one long cliche. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: Catnaps are an advisable way to survive some of the slow spots. Or, better yet, wait for this to be available on DVD when the fast forward button will turn Step Up 2 into something shorter and more enjoyable. Read more

Ruthe Stein, San Francisco Chronicle: A finale has the young people all dancing in the rain. Like almost everything else about the movie, it has been done before. But it's still foot-stomping fun. Read more

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Read more

Nell Minow, Chicago Sun-Times: The story may be old, but these kids act -- and dance -- as though they are telling it for the first time. Read more

Jason Anderson, Globe and Mail: Doesn't measure up. Read more

Susan Walker, Toronto Star: Reeks of artificiality and phoney emotion. Read more

Stephen Garrett, Time Out: Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: Dance scenes feel like a diversion, since the story, acting and dialogue are sadly lacking in originality and substance. Read more

Peter Debruge, Variety: Step Up 2 features nearly as much dancing as it does dialogue, and that's a good thing, considering the after-school special quality of its obligatory emotional scenes. Read more

Variety: Read more

Desson Thomson, Washington Post: Let's wait for a movie where they do get it all right: story, acting and dancing. It'll happen, just not this time. Read more