I’ve always been a fan of dance movies, so it’s no wonder I was so excited to watch the sequel of my favorite dance movie of all time, Step Up. I got even more excited when my boyfriend told me that Channing Tatum will be reprising his role as Tyler Gage, even if it’s just for a few minutes. I immediately asked him if Tyler was doing any dancing, and when he said yes, I knew I had to watch this movie. Anyway, here are my favorite scenes:

#1 The dance battle between Tyler and Andie West (Brianna Evigan), and it’s not just because Channing was there. The dancing was fun, with the trampolines and the back flip from the DJ booth. My favorite part in that entire dance was when he jumped off the trampoline and hooked his long sleeves, so that when he jumped back to the floor he was only in his sleeveless shirt. After that move, the DJ screamed, “It’s over! It’s over!”

I also thought putting the dance-off in the movie was very smart because of the following reasons:

a) It provides continuity from Step Up 1 to Step Up 2 – it was like Tyler was passing the torch to Andie and Chase (whom we see freestyling at the Dragon Club in his black hoodie) By the way, speaking of hoodies, the black and white hoodie he was wearing was Nike. I hope they’ll sell it here. So anyway, unlike other sequels where you don’t really understand how one is related to the other (such as the Bring It On movies – you just know that everything’s about cheerleading), the short scenes with Tyler connect the two movies without seeming contrived or forced.

b) It explains the absence of both him and Nora from the rest of the movie. Remember when he told Andie that “Me and Nora goin’ on tour” then did this silly dance? It showed that they were still together, and they were both going places now, which is actually the case in real life for them too. In case you didn’t know, Channing Tatum (who played Tyler Gage) and Jenna Dewan (who played Nora Clark) are still going strong as a couple and as individual actors with promising careers.

c) It ensured that all Channing fans will go see the movie (mostly to see him dance). It also completed Tyler’s character transformation since Step Up 1 from unambitious kid who’s going nowhere fast to a driven rolemodel whom Andie’s guardian believed set a great example to all the other kids in the block.

So thanks to director Jon Chu for getting him there, though I wish Jenna had a cameo as well (even without dancing since the whole ballet thing probably wouldn’t work with the storyline).

#2 The amazing moves of Moose (Adam Sevani) to the song “The Way I Are” on the stairs. First of all, can I just say he’s the spitting image of Gordo from the Lizzie McGuire show? They both got this nerdy geeky thing going for them.

This is Moose:

This is Gordo:

Anyway, what’s so funny about Moose’s dancing is that he’s such a nerd so you’d never think he’s capable of doing even the most basic dance moves. When Andie heard his ring tone, she disbelievingly said, “That is not your ring tone,” mainly because it’s not the type of music you’d expect a nerd to like. Then Moose does this funny beat box and weird moves and says, “Watch me” then started free styling up the stairs. Talk about shock value! The New York Times even said he “might be the baddest nerd in movie history.”

The little ballerina stole the scene in Step Up 1 when she glared at Tyler, who couldn’t keep laughing while doing ballet. For Step Up 2, the scene stealer has got to be Moose. I mean, he even won an award for it at the 2008 Young Hollywood Award.

#3 The final dance of the MSA crew, especially Moose in “Bounce” and the pair dancing of Andie and Chase Collins (Robert Hoffman) towards the end. I’ve never seen two more evenly matched dancers together. Tyler and Nora were matched as well, but they were good in different styles. Both Andie and Chase are amazing hip-hop dancers. I loved watching them together.