Step UpMovie Reviews

Gifts + Promos

The Vow Free Gift

Buy tickets & receive a FREE 3-Month Love Forecast from Astrology.com!

Fandango Bucks

Send your sweetheart the gift of movies this Valentine’s Day!

Journey Sweeps

Enter for a chance to win a trip for 2 to Nicaragua!

Interactive Oscar Ballot

Who's taking home the Oscar? Cast your vote & challenge your friends on Facebook!

Need Help?
So-so
Avg. Critic Score: 48 out of 100 Mixed or average reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
13 Iffy for 13+
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 75
    Boston Globe | Ty Burr

    Alive with infectious rhythm, likable characters, and slick dance moves, Step Up gives clichs a good name. Read full review

  • 75
    Entertainment Weekly | Scott Brown

    Step, under the sure hand of director-choreographer Anne Fletcher, quickly discovers its own virtuoso charms. Two of them are its leads. Read full review

  • 70
    Variety | Joe Leydon

    Fresh cast, a formulaic but engaging storyline, and a smoking soundtrack from rap and hip-hop luminaries. Read full review

  • 63
    New York Daily News | Elizabeth Weitzman

    Both Tatum and Dewan know how to move, and their co-stars (including musicians Mario and Drew Sidora) are equally gifted. Read full review

  • 60
    The New York Times |

    The story is as old as Mickey Rooney but its appeal is eternal, and Step Up cleaves to the template with significantly more rigor than originality. For a director who is also a choreographer, Anne Fletcher is strangely reluctant to step out of line. Read full review

  • 50
    The Hollywood Reporter | Frank Scheck

    While its sexy young lead performers and enjoyable dance sequences should provide some boxoffice enticement, this directorial debut from choreographer Anne Fletcher likely will score bigger on video. Read full review

  • 50
    Washington Post | Desson Thomson

    Tatum, the hunky object of Amanda Bynes's fancy in "She's the Man," and an engaging basketballer in "Coach Carter," is the best thing about this uninspired formula-thon. Read full review

  • 50
    USA Today |

    For a movie about dancing, Step Up is pretty clumsy on its feet. Read full review

  • 30
    Austin Chronicle | Marrit Ingman

    This could be a pilot for the WB. Hollywood choreographer Fletcher makes the jump behind the camera but displays a greater aplomb for staging than drama, and the movie is as fleeting as the last weekend of summer. Read full review

  • 25
    San Francisco Chronicle | Ruthe Stein

    The dreary teen drama Step Up appears to be cobbled together from bits and pieces of successful movies. Read full review

View more reviews for Step Up on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says Iffy for 13+ Clichéd dance movie with some fun moves.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that this movie contains references to gang violence, racial unrest, and tragedies resulting from a life of poverty. Social classes are prevalent (the "privileged" and the "poor"), and lies and betrayal are part of the storyline. Tyler comes from a low-income foster home, and his life is all about parties, thugs, and criminal behavior, including a run-in with a chop-shop owner. There's some profanity and sexual innuendo.
  • Families can talk about what Tyler could have done differently in his life, rather than resorting to crime. How could Tyler have found different friends? How do you avoid "going along with the crowd" when you know they're in the wrong?
  • How do the adults in Tyler's life affect him? Could they have done anything differently to help him? Is the school administrator right in showing her disapproval when he wants to dance?
  • And what about Nora's mother? Is she right to want Nora to focus on college applications, or should she nurture her daughter's love of dance?
The good stuff
  • message true0 Positive messages: Lying, betrayal, partying, criminal and rebellious activities; messages about teenage self-improvement.
What to watch for
  • violence false3 Violence: Gang violence, street thugs, Tyler and his buddies trash the school.
  • sex false3 Sex: Innuendoes throughout; budding romances between Tyler/Jenna and others; one student's use of synthesizers is likened to masturbation.
  • language false3 Language: A few uses of "s--t," plus "damn," "hell," and the like.
  • consumerism false1 Consumerism: Mild.
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false2 Drinking, drugs and smoking: References to drugs/alcohol throughout.
An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.

Looking for more reviews? Movies.com Critics Say:

Dave White

1.0

Dave White Profile See Dave White's Profile

Sucky … Read full review See Dave White's on MOVIENAME on Movies.com

Read more movie reviews at Movies.com

Facebook Movie Fans

Fan Fandango on Facebook