Step Up Revolution (released in some countries as Step Up 4: Miami Heat) is a 2012 American 3D dance film directed by Scott Speer (in his feature film directorial debut) and written by Amanda Brody. It serves as a sequel to Step Up 3D and the fourth installment in the Step Up film series. The film stars Ryan Guzman, Kathryn McCormick, Misha Gabriel, Cleopatra Coleman, Stephen "tWitch" Boss, Tommy Dewey, and Peter Gallagher.[4]

Step Up Revolution
Theatrical release poster
Directed byScott Speer
Written byAmanda Brody
Based onCharacters
by Duane Adler
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyCrash
Edited by
Music byAaron Zigman
Production
company
Distributed bySummit Entertainment[1] (through Lionsgate[2])
Release date
  • July 27, 2012 (2012-07-27) (United States)
Running time
99 minutes[3]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$33 million[2]
Box office$140.4 million[2]

Step Up Revolution was released in the United States on July 27, 2012, by Summit Entertainment. It became the first film in the series to not be co-produced by Touchstone Pictures nor distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures and the first film to be released by Summit after being acquired by Lions Gate Entertainment in January 2012.[5] The film received mixed reviews from critics.

A sequel, Step Up: All In, was released on August 8, 2014, in the United States.

Plot edit

In Miami, Florida, a flash mob, later identified as "The Mob", shuts down Ocean Drive briefly by cutting off the streets with retro convertibles and dancing on cars to music blasted by DJ Penelope. A few hours later, Sean Asa, Eddy, and Jason Hardlerson, the leaders of The Mob, watch their latest flash mob air on the television news in a restaurant kitchen of the Dimont Hotel where they work as waiters. A few complain about their public disturbance, while others praise it. After they get off work, the group sneak into the hotel's beach club, claiming to be guests, not employees.

Meanwhile, across the club at the bar, Emily Anderson tries to get a bartender's attention, but ends up preparing her own beer. Sean, who is immediately smitten by her, asks for a beer. Emily heads down to the beach to dance, resulting in a dance battle between the two, but ending with Emily suddenly running off when she sees her father's business partner.

The next day, Emily and her father William "Bill" Anderson argue over breakfast at the Dimont Hotel. Sean, their waiter, immediately recognizes her, but Emily spills her orange juice to distract him. In an angry fit, Emily storms off, and Sean follows her into the hotel's ballroom, where Emily begins a fast contemporary dance, oblivious to Sean's presence. After Emily notices Sean and warms up to him, she explains to him that she's trying to nail an audition for the prestigious Winwood Dance Academy Company. Sean advises her to incorporate faster, more interesting moves, but Emily declines, saying that there are rules. Sean, in turn, tells her to break the rules, giving her an address and telling her to come there. Emily does and finds herself at the Miami Museum of Fine Arts, where the paintings and statues come to life, which is the work of The Mob. By telling her to attend, Sean reveals to her his participation in The Mob.

The next day, Emily persuades Sean to let her take part in their next flash mob, which is scheduled to hit a restaurant the following week. Eddy immediately dislikes Emily, giving her the lead to test her. The flash mob goes well and Eddy admits that Emily did great. Sean and Emily then sneak onto a boat and sail down the river. There, they kiss and sleep on the boat until morning, when they hurry back to Sean's uncle's bar, Ricky's. Ricky reveals to them that Emily's father, a building tycoon, is planning to develop the slums, destroying Ricky's bar, Sean's home, and many other things.

Emily wants to tell The Mob who her father is, but is convinced by Sean not to. She leads the rest of The Mob to protest the plans, and their dance is a huge hit. Eddy finds out that Emily is William's daughter, and reveals to William that Emily is a part of the Mob. Emily feels betrayed by Sean and he gets arrested for saving Eddy after a fight between the two. Emily had rehearsed her Winwood audition piece as a duet with Sean, but now that she and Sean are estranged, Emily no longer has him as a dance partner. Instead, she adapts the piece, dancing it as a solo performance. The result falls flat and she fails her audition for the troupe.

After Sean and Eddy were sent to jail for being caught in the flash mob, Ricky bails them out and Eddy and Sean make up. They then mob the development's public announcement, with the help of members from The House of Pirates, including Moose, Vladd, Hair, and Jenny Kido. Sean and Emily then perform the original audition piece. Seeing his daughter so happy, William decides to build the community up rather than tear it down. Sean and Emily kiss and make up, and Sean and Eddy make a deal with the owner of the marketing firm that represents Nike for the Mob to dance in their commercials.

Cast edit

  • Ryan Guzman as Sean Asa, Emily's love interest and the leader of the Mob.
  • Kathryn McCormick as Emily Anderson, Sean's love interest, a gifted dancer and a Rookie member of Mob
  • Misha Gabriel as Eddy, Sean's best friend who co-leads the Mob with Sean. He, Sean, and Jason work as waiters at the Dimont Hotel, but he gets fired by William for being late to work one day, which fuels his aggression towards him.
  • Peter Gallagher as William "Bill" Anderson, a real-estate tycoon and Emily's father, as well as Sean and Eddy's boss.
  • Stephen "tWitch" Boss as Jason Hardlerson, a member of the Mob and the Pirates as he was in the 3rd movie and had returned to Miami after being in New York.
  • Tommy Dewey as Trip, William's protegé
  • Cleopatra Coleman as DJ Penelope
  • Megan Boone as Claire, Sean's sister who is a single mother with a young daughter
  • Adam Sevani as Robert "Moose" Alexander III. He makes a cameo in the film, Moose gets a call from Jason to come to Miami and help him and the Mob which he does and brings some of the Pirates.
  • Chadd "Madd Chadd" Smith as Vladd. He makes a cameo, also a member of the Pirates, his character appears with Moose and Jenny Kido in the final dance scene.
  • Seyfo Franklin Bass "Glitch" is in the Mob
  • Sean Rahill as Iris
  • Mari Koda as Jenny Kido. She makes a cameo, her character appears with the rest of The Pirates along with Moose.
  • Chris Scott as Hair. He makes a cameo, his character appears with the rest of The Pirates along with Moose.
  • Brendan Morris as Neighborhood Kid / Dancer (also part of the Mob)
  • Phillip "Pacman" Chbeeb in The Mob
  • RayNeshia Robinson in the mob
  • Justin "Jet Li" Valles in the Mob
  • Glenn Michael A. Mataro in the Mob
  • Celestina Aladekoba in the Mob
  • Angeline Fioridella Appel in the Mob
  • Natali Reznick in the Mob
  • Mia Michaels as Olivia
  • Tangi Colombel as Ballet Master
  • Bebo in the Mob
  • Blonde Paint Girl
  • Tony Bellissmo in the Mob
  • Sean "Tsunami" Rivera in the Mob

Soundtrack edit

Production technology edit

Step Up Revolution was filmed in "native" / "true 3D" without post production conversion using Red Epic cameras, Zeiss Ultra Prime and Angenieux Optimo DP Lenses and 3ality Technica TS-5 camera rigs and Stereo Image Processor (SIP) technology systems.[citation needed]

Reception edit

Step Up Revolution received a 41% approval rating on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes based on 98 reviews, with an average rating of 5.00/10. The consensus stating: "Step Up Revolution treads familiar territory by surrounding its lively and kinetic dance sequences with a predictably generic story." It holds a rating of 43/100 on Metacritic signifying mixed or average reviews.[6]

In its opening weekend, the film grossed $11,731,708 and was placed at No. 4 on the Box Office. The film was released in 2,567 theaters. As of November 19, 2012 the film has grossed $35,074,677 in the United States and $105,396,069 in other territories, for a total of $140,470,746 worldwide.[2] As of November 19, 2012, it lies third in terms of worldwide box-office receipts compared to other films in the Step Up series.

References edit

  1. ^ a b "AFI|Catalog".
  2. ^ a b c d "Step Up Revolution (2012)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved November 19, 2012.
  3. ^ "STEP UP 4 - MIAMI HEAT | British Board of Film Classification". Bbfc.co.uk. Retrieved March 25, 2013.
  4. ^ Stephanie Wolf (July 6, 2011). "Kathryn McCormick Lands Lead Role in Step Up 4". Wetpaint.com. Archived from the original on July 9, 2011. Retrieved March 25, 2013.
  5. ^ Annabelle, Laura (February 7, 2017). "Step Up Up Revolution". Medium.com. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
  6. ^ "Step Up Revolution". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved January 18, 2013.

External links edit