BEAT THE WORLD (Robert Adetuyi). 89 minutes. Opens Friday (May 13). See listing. Rating: N
The Step Up series may not be great cinema, but at least it’s smart enough to cast actors and teach them to dance.
Writer/director Robert Adetuyi boldly goes the other way with Beat The World, assembling dynamic dancers from around the globe without worrying about their ability to deliver dialogue or even stand still in a convincing fashion. The result is a feature-length squirm session occasionally broken up by some kinetic moves.
In the time-honoured tradition of such dance-competition pictures as Breakin’ and Stomp The Yard (which Adetuyi co-wrote), Beat The World follows the aspirations of three dance crews who face off in Detroit for a $100,000 cash prize.
Each group has its own clichéd set of problems through which the film dutifully cycles. But none of it really amounts to anything. It’s all just atrociously acted filler between the dance sequences, which Adetuyi shoots so haphazardly that it’s impossible to appreciate the artists or choreography.
