I get it. You don’t go to dance movies like these for the plot or acting, you go for the amazing moves. Still, is it asking so much for filmmakers to put forth the tiniest effort to hammer out a script that made even a little sense and get a lead who could believable deliver a line, in addition to his dancing?

I have nothing against young Adam Savani, who plays Moose, although he’s supposed to be a college freshman and looks and sounds like he’s about 14 (he was, in fact, 17 when he made the film). But this kid, who was also in Step Up 2: The Streets does an admirable job of selling his lines, in addition to selling his street moves, which are phenomenal. It’s Rick Malambri, who plays Luke, the leader and den father of a pack of dancing young people who live together in a community loft and compete for a living. It sort of reminded me a mix between Rent and Oliver! We’re supposed to care about Luke’s budding relationship with a mystery woman who flash dances across the street where they live, and whether he has a future in dance or filmmaking, but the acting is so maladroit and the plot so contrived, it’s more ludicrous than anything else. One minute Luke and the crew are getting tossed out of their loft and splitting up, and what seems like five minutes later he’s waiting tables at a local diner and they’ve reunited outside and are pleading with him to come back and lead them again.

Now, lack of logical plot points and acting skills aside, the dance scenes are amazing, and the 3D effects are awe-inspiring. This is what the medium was made for. Especially fun to watch are Martin and Facundo Lombard, who play the Santiago Twins, a couple of fast talking, mirror image dancing fools. It’s also fun to see females in the forefront of street dancing. Like in so many musicals, the actual set up doesn’t really have to make sense, as long as the big production numbers deliver, and there’s no doubt about it, in this respect, the performers step up to the plate.

Rated PG-13

—Lisa Johnson Mandell