The Definitive Guide to Living in the Capital , Cairo , Egypt

The best thing about Streetdance
is that it knows where its strengths lie. People don’t pay to watch dance films
to watch dancers act; we want to be wowed by their moves. Streetdance doesn’t waste time trying to get dancers to emote and
instead lets them express their feelings through their bodies to the point
where most of the (minimal) dialogue takes place while the cast dances. It’s a
glorious thing.

The plot is reminiscent of every other dance film that’s come out
lately; why mess with a formula that works, right? Ash (Hentschel) humiliates
himself in front of the aptly named Invincible; reigning champions on the dance
crew circuit. To regain face, he scours Europe to put together the best dance
crew on the continent so that they can battle Invincible in a huge competition
in Paris. The final addition to the crew is Eva (Boutella); an incredible salsa
dancer. Ash’s big plan is to create a fusion of Latin and street dance,
resulting in something that will wow the judges and win them the title.

The film can be summed up in three words: Boutella is unbelievable. It’s
what the characters keep saying over and over –especially Ash – and what you’ll
be thinking while watching the film. The way she moves is incredible. Gravity
doesn’t affect her the way it does the rest of us mere mortals. Of course, the film’s
b-boys also have a special relationship with gravity but Boutella has a
fluidity and grace that puts her in another league altogether. Despite her
breathtaking dance skills though, Boutella’s acting is wooden at best. However,
she’s still a step up from Hentschel who looks permanently clubbed over the
head.

Most of the film’s dance routines fall squarely into the Latin or street
camp. As a whole, they’re pretty astounding and they pop just that much more in
3D, but the film’s true highlight is when the crew unveil their Latin fusion
choreography in the final battle. It’s inventive, sexy and so much fun to
watch, though all those apply to the rest of the film’s dance routines as well.
The soundtrack includes a bunch of tracks that we’re all highly familiar with,
assuming you’ve turned on a radio in the past year that is, such as Wretch 32’s
‘Unorthodox’, Jessie J’s ‘Domino’ and Dev’s ‘Bass Down Low’. The music works
perfectly with the choreography, the glossy colours and the editing, resulting
in what is essentially a feature length music video. Depending on your expectations
for dance films, this could be exactly what you want from them.