Plot
In Miami, Florida, a flash mob, later identified as "The Mob", shuts down Ocean Drive briefly by cutting off the streets with retro convertibles and dancing on cars to music blasted by DJ Penelope. A few hours later, Sean Asa, Eddy, and Jason Hardlerson, the leaders of The Mob, watch their latest flash mob air on the television news in a restaurant kitchen of the Dimont Hotel where they work as waiters. A few complain about their public disturbance, while others praise it. After they get off work, the group sneak into the hotel's beach club, claiming to be guests, not employees.
Meanwhile, across the club at the bar, Emily Anderson tries to get a bartender's attention, but ends up preparing her own beer. Sean, who is immediately smitten by her, asks for a beer. Emily heads down to the beach to dance, resulting in a dance battle between the two, but ending with Emily suddenly running off when she sees her father's business partner.
The next day, Emily and her father William "Bill" Anderson argue over breakfast at the Dimont Hotel. Sean, their waiter, immediately recognizes her, but Emily spills her orange juice to distract him. In an angry fit, Emily storms off, and Sean follows her into the hotel's ballroom, where Emily begins a fast contemporary dance, oblivious to Sean's presence. After Emily notices Sean and warms up to him, she explains to him that she's trying to nail an audition for the prestigious Winwood Dance Academy Company. Sean advises her to incorporate faster, more interesting moves, but Emily declines, saying that there are rules. Sean, in turn, tells her to break the rules, giving her an address and telling her to come there. Emily does and finds herself at the Miami Museum of Fine Arts, where the paintings and statues come to life, which is the work of The Mob. By telling her to attend, Sean reveals to her his participation in The Mob.
The next day, Emily persuades Sean to let her take part in their next flash mob, which is scheduled to hit a restaurant the following week. Eddy immediately dislikes Emily, giving her the lead to test her. The flash mob goes well and Eddy admits that Emily did great. Sean and Emily then sneak onto a boat and sail down the river. There, they kiss and sleep on the boat until morning, when they hurry back to Sean's uncle's bar, Ricky's. Ricky reveals to them that Emily's father, a building tycoon, is planning to develop the slums, destroying Ricky's bar, Sean's home, and many other things.
Emily wants to tell The Mob who her father is, but is convinced by Sean not to. She leads the rest of The Mob to protest the plans, and their dance is a huge hit. Eddy finds out that Emily is William's daughter, and reveals to William that Emily is a part of the Mob. Emily feels betrayed by Sean and he gets arrested for saving Eddy after a fight between the two. Emily had rehearsed her Winwood audition piece as a duet with Sean, but now that she and Sean are estranged, Emily no longer has him as a dance partner. Instead, she adapts the piece, dancing it as a solo performance. The result falls flat and she fails her audition for the troupe.
After Sean and Eddy were sent to jail for being caught in the flash mob, Ricky bails them out and Eddy and Sean make up. They then mob the development's public announcement, with the help of members from The House of Pirates, including Moose, Vladd, Hair, and Jenny Kido. Sean and Emily then perform the original audition piece. Seeing his daughter so happy, William decides to build the community up rather than tear it down. Sean and Emily kiss and make up, and Sean and Eddy make a deal with the owner of the marketing firm that represents Nike for the Mob to dance in their commercials.
Reception
Step Up Revolution received a 41% approval rating on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes based on 98 reviews, with an average rating of 5.00/10. The consensus stating: "Step Up Revolution treads familiar territory by surrounding its lively and kinetic dance sequences with a predictably generic story." It holds a rating of 43/100 on Metacritic signifying mixed or average reviews. [6]
In its opening weekend, the film grossed $11,731,708 and was placed at No. 4 on the Box Office. The film was released in 2,567 theaters. As of November 19, 2012 the film has grossed $35,074,677 in the United States and $105,396,069 in other territories, for a total of $140,470,746 worldwide. [2] As of November 19, 2012, it lies third in terms of worldwide box-office receipts compared to other films in the Step Up series.
