Critic Reviews
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David Jenkins, Time Out
There's little here for British eyes.
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Melissa Anderson, Time Out New York
Benign nonsense.
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Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal
The moves can be remarkable, though ritually repetitive -- male chorus lines of adrenalized automata acting out anger, menace, pride, audacity or joy.
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Rachel Saltz, New York Times
Stomp the Yard is a strange and at times strangely compelling mix of black fraternity recruitment video and inspirational tale about a hip-hop boy in a stepping world.
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Susan Walker, Toronto Star
Perhaps director Sylvain White hoped that this laughably melodramatic film might find its way into the pantheon of urban dance films. But seen against such films as Rize and You Got Served, it's a step in the wrong direction.
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Tom Keogh, Seattle Times
Typical of dance movies, there's a bit of story to fill the gaps between energetic sessions of movement. Director Sylvain White captures loads of feverish step action with stylishly jittery camerawork, muted colors and claustrophobic framing.
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Joshua Starnes, ComingSoon.net
It's a little bit of a musical, a little bit of a sports film, a little bit coming-of-age story. And none of it, beyond the dancing, any good.
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Felix Gonzalez Jr., DVD Review
... the film as a whole lacks the energy of its dance numbers.
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Todd Gilchrist, IGN Movies
At a time of year when theaters are filled with flashy, fun, but empty offerings, Stomp The Yard is a surprisingly satisfying alternative.
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Eric D. Snider, EricDSnider.com
It's not a great movie, no, and maybe not even a particularly good one. But it's likable and unassuming, and the dancing is off the hook, or whatever the kids are saying these days.
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Urban Cinefile Critics, Urban Cinefile
There is so much yet so little on the screen: so much movement and action, but so little to cling on to. So much angst, so little context.
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Peter Bradshaw, Guardian [UK]
An inspirational dance movie, which, like an inspirational sports movie, runs on predictable rails.
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Neil Smith, Film4
The dynamic dance sequences have all the right moves, but there's precious little to hold the attention once the music stops.
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James White, Total Film
Driven along by a decent cast who really turn it on during the musical moments, letting their steps tell the story.
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Matthew Turner, ViewLondon
The performances are good but the heavily cliched script ensures that there's very little of interest here, unless you're a massive stepping fan.
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Stella Papamichael, BBC
The Yard is a minefield of clichés - step at your peril.
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Simon Braund, Empire Magazine
Decidely average teen drama but with a few decent dance numbers.
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David Noh, Film Journal International
Sylvain White should be chained to a chair...for the migraine-inducing crimes he commits, which rob the numbers of any joy or human flavor they might have possessed.
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Chris Cabin, Filmcritic.com
If there is any sort of cultural relevance to be found in a movie like Stomp the Yard, it's that spectacles don't even matter anymore: We just need the possibility of a spectacle.
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Kamal 'The Diva' Larsuel, 3BlackChicks Review
The plot was stomped on a bit, but it is watchable.
Read all 24 critic reviews
Featured Audience Ratings
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Sucks critically, poor acting and script but still bearable to watch.
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Always been a sucker for dance films and this didn't fail to impress. It was a breath of fresh air to find a dancing film that had a different sort of dance. I'd never heard of stomping before I watched this film so it really made it different from the other dance films… More
Always been a sucker for dance films and this didn't fail to impress. It was a breath of fresh air to find a dancing film that had a different sort of dance. I'd never heard of stomping before I watched this film so it really made it different from the other dance films I'd seen. Good film!
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It's better than I thought it would be. It's good. You don't have to be a victim of your circumstances, you just have to find your drive and go for it.
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I thought it was okay but not good.
Grade: C
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I love watching this movie. Super great movie, very awesome dance moves, totally love Meagan Good!!!
After the death of his younger brother, a troubled 19-year-old street dancer from Los Angeles is able to bypass juvenile hall by enrolling in the historically black, Truth… More
I love watching this movie. Super great movie, very awesome dance moves, totally love Meagan Good!!!
After the death of his younger brother, a troubled 19-year-old street dancer from Los Angeles is able to bypass juvenile hall by enrolling in the historically black, Truth University in Atlanta, Georgia. But his efforts to get an education and woo the girl he likes are sidelined when he is courted by the top two campus fraternities, both of which want and need his fierce street-style dance moves to win the highly coveted national step show competition.
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very good! It touches your heart in many ways!
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As Curtis would say, "I liked this movie better the first time, when it was called Drumline."
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A powerful well-made uplifting movie with a competition-forumla plot and some creative stomp-dancing sequences. Entertaining to watch.
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Awesome stepping movie since <i>Step Up</i> and <i>Bring It On</i>, but mostly exciting on the street styled and innovative dance moves with the fraternities at the university. African-American actor Columbus Short makes a wonderful dance sequences in the… More
Awesome stepping movie since <i>Step Up</i> and <i>Bring It On</i>, but mostly exciting on the street styled and innovative dance moves with the fraternities at the university. African-American actor Columbus Short makes a wonderful dance sequences in the battle and competition. Amazing!
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Drumline for black people
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this movie is good, is even better than i had imagined, it is not your typical hip-hop/dancing movie, it really has some "substance", good script and performances, especially by the newcomer columbus short, amazing choreography and soundtrack
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This has a unique storyline and i really liked it. Plus the lead character, Columbus Short, is so cute.
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In order for Stomp the Yard to succeed as quality moviemaking, it needed to raise itself up by the bootstraps and give audiences some fresh dance moves. Moviegoers have, after all, seen this sort of story very recently under the titles Stick It, Step Up, and Take the Lead-?inner city… More
In order for Stomp the Yard to succeed as quality moviemaking, it needed to raise itself up by the bootstraps and give audiences some fresh dance moves. Moviegoers have, after all, seen this sort of story very recently under the titles Stick It, Step Up, and Take the Lead-?inner city youth makes good on the dance floor. Worse yet, this reviewer can honestly say that outside of switching a drum kit for step dancing, Stomp the Yard comes dangerously close to plagiarizing the school drum corps drama Drumline. Not only does Stomp the Yard relish an obvious resemblance to movies of its ilk, it even embraces the shortfalls that dogged them, exuding all of the cocksureness of an MTV video.
In the PG-13-rated Stomp the Yard, an inner city youth (Short) attends Atlanta?s historic Truth University to escape his troubled past, overcoming adversity by implementing street-style dance moves into a fraternity?s step team.
Multiple dance-offs? Check. Romancing the opponent?s girl? Check. Multiple dance-offs? Check. The lead being called a loser who will amount to nothing? Check. Multiple dance-offs? Check. Life-changing street altercation? Check. Did this reviewer mention the dance-offs? Sadly, Stomp the Yard fails to play its one ace card, effectively documenting the unique world of step dancing. Rather than let the action play out in longer takes and allow visage to the choreographed beauty of the animated dance movement, this film utilizes a constant barrage of quick-edits, demonstrating the music video industry?s unfortunate and obvious stranglehold on modern filmmaking.
Bottom line: Drumline without the drum kit.
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It's not bad, but it's no big deal.
I liked the story and all but that kind of dancing really doesn't appeal to me.
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The first 10 mins contain the best dancing (tip for those that do not want to waste 115 mins). Very predictable story, nothing new to offer.
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Dance sequences are impressive, but can barely make up for generic story.
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Stomp it into the Abyss and never letting it out. Acting was bad, plot was pointless, there were no real obstacles, not to mention the lack of dramatic tension. The dance was pretty pathetic. The film is like a child putting the puzzles together, and the result is considerably bad.
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not bad if you just scan through the good parts. kind of like watching drum line and the step up movies. only with more stomping...
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terrible. A few clever moves, but no quality storyline & only moderately good acting.
Read all 20 featured audience ratings
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