Absolutely nothing about Step Up 3D makes sense, and at times it got so unrealistic I almost expected the twist ending to reveal it had all been a dream in an autistic boy's mind.

If you've seen any of the following films, then you will basically understand the thrust of SU3D's plot: X-Men, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Mighty Ducks, The Karate Kid, The Bad News Bears, etc. All you have to do is substitute the words "mutation," "toxic ooze," "hockey," "karate (maturation)," and "baseball" for "dance battles" and you're already halfway there.

The story: A young prodigy (Moose, as played by Adam G. Sevani) moves to the big city, where he is immediately introduced to the older, wiser, more troubled master (Luke, played by Rick Malambri), who takes him under his wings.

Luke introduces Moose to the colorful cast of characters (each of which has a very special "ability") that inhabit Luke's ridiculously lavish loft/dojo.

Meanwhile, a dame enters Luke's life. Meanwhile meanwhile, we meet the rival dance gang! Meanwhile meanwhile meanwhile, Moose starts to lose sight of his innocent self and the friendships he kept in his old, dance-less life.

Soon, we find out Luke is in danger of losing the insane loft (read: community center) where he and his 15 friends/dance partners all live (his dead parents built it!), so he is forced to enter a dance contest where the prize is 100,000 dollars! That oughta cover it!

Setting every molecule of ludicrousness aside (and that's basically the movie), what we are left with is amazing dancing. And I really mean it. The stuff these dancers do in this movie is literally awe-inspiring - there were more than a few moments where I was convinced that CGI had to be involved.

That said, and while I appreciate how the actors were actually the ones doing the dancing, these are amazingly talented dancers and less-than-amazingly talented actors.
This is the third of the series, but you needn't see the first two prior to this one. This story is more or less self-contained. If you're worried about the franchise being ruined for you with the inevitably disappointing third act, let me tell you the audience and I enjoyed several hearty laughs at the expense of this train wreck. Nothing about the nature of a summer film dictates it be good, merely enjoyable. I really enjoyed this sloppy, unambiguous swipe at the dance movie, especially the complete lack of violence. Angry though these dance gangs may be at one another, their rivalry never once came to blows. – Three out of four stars