Make fun of the Step Up franchise all you want. It's launched the careers of Channing Tatum and G.I. Joe 2 director John M. Chu, made nearly half a billion dollars worldwide, and it's now moving into its fourth installment, set for release this July. Sure, it may not be the most anticipated blockbuster of the summer with The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises out there, but it's a franchise with plenty of fans, all of whom will probably be thrilled to see the film's first trailer, which debuted online today. Take a look below.
I'm not really sure why it's listed as an "Exclusive Announcement Piece," since we've known the film was happening at least since Scott Speer was hired to direct it last May. The only question was really if it would get a clever name like Step Up 2 The Streets and Step Up 3-D, though from the looks of this trailer they've stuck with the simple Step Up 4. Also from the looks of this trailer, trends like hydraulics on souped-up old cars never died, and Miami is exactly as hip and edgy as it was when Will Smith sang about it in the late 90s. I know the Step Up movies are supposed to be timeless and all, but this trailer feels a bit more like a time wrap.
But you know what? It doesn't matter. The dancing looks killer and completely over-the-top, the acting passable and the dialogue awful-- and it looks like way, way too much fun to ignore. You may not have known you wanted to see guys dancing on top of cars jacked up on hydraulics, but now that you have, aren't you dying to see the whole thing? Step Up 4 comes to theaters on July 27, opening against the comedy Neighborhood Watch and Tyler Perry's next film The Marriage Counselor.
