The film poster for directors Max Giwa and Dania Pasquini’s StreetDance 2 announces it is ‘Bigger. Better. Bolder. Back!’, therefore suggesting that you are in for a treat. Surprise! Surprise! – don’t believe everything you read! It is in 3D, but then so was the original version which actually had a lot more going for it in terms of script and originality and is still considered one of the most successful independent British films ever. However, this sequel doesn’t quite match up to its pre-publicity.

The film features an opening sequence which is a travellers’ dream, visiting locations around Europe taking in London, Paris, Rome and Berlin. Ash (Falk Hentschel) and Eddie (George Sampson) are searching for a new dance crew and a leading lady to head it up. They hope to win the Best World Dance Crew in a competition just two months away, being held at a large open amphitheatre in Paris.

Ash had a humiliating experience at a recent contest and he is determined to come up with a new idea which will put his crew on the frontline. Luckily, in Paris he meets - and falls in love with - Eva (Sofia Boutella, who worked on two of Madonna’s world tours), a beautiful salsa dancer who is lovingly over-protected by her uncle, Manu (Tom Conti, who plays a convincing aging Spaniard).

The result is a pretty spectacular series of dance sequences by a very talented stable of dancers – including a welcome return for the youngest crew member from the first StreetDance, Junior (Akai Osei-Mansfield) - and real-life dance crew Flawless, who reprise their role as rival dancers, Invincible. Ash’s crew displays a fusion of Latino and hip-hop moves (remember the first film was a fusion of classical ballet and hip-hop), all beautifully captured in crisp 3D by Sam McCurdy’s cinematography (he shot the amazing The Street series).

If you are looking for more of a story than boy meets girl and the inevitable mis-understanding which occurs at a crucial moment in the film, then you will find this script rather one-dimensional and, to be honest, the characters are better dancers than actors. However, the film’s appeal is certain for dance lovers and even for those of us who can’t ‘cut a rug’ there are some wonderful dance moves that will have you seriously contemplating joining a dance class as you twirl out of the cinema.

// SALT
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