Thank God they came out with this, because the original Step Up left so many unanswered questions. That’s petty sarcasm to be sure, but actually, I take full blame for this because I gave a fairly (and fair) positive review of part one back in the summer of ’06, also the popularity of the film with moviegoers might have had something to do with it, I guess. Step Up was harmless and also rather enjoyable, so it was kind of a surprise when Step Up 2: The Streets managed to be as satisfying as the original, which, remember, was kind of a surprise in and of itself.

Once again taking place at the Maryland School of the Arts, centering on a disenfranchised but talented street tuff and the privileged but bored upper class student. This time, the street tuff is Andie (Briana Evigan), who’s part of an underground dance group called the 4-1-0. When she keeps getting into too much trouble, her guardian threatens to send her away to an aunt in Texas. (Also, ironically, this is very similar to the plot of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.)

Tyler Gage (Channing Tatum, returning from part one) finagles Andie an audition at MSA where she catches the eye of the *Nsync-esque Chase (Robert Hoffman) and the ire of the school’s dean Collins (Will Kemp). Oh, and that whole “Streets” thing? Just the biggest dance contest between rival dance packs across Baltimore. Chase and Andie form their own team with outcasts from school to take on the 4-1-0.

So the story is nothing earth-shattering, but what were you expecting? This is probably the best known tale in the history of well known stories: the star-crossed lovers. Also, it’s hardly original to apply this to a dance studio setting. But call me snookered, it works this time, just as it did the last outing.

True, every last thing about it is predictable and cheesy and completely without shame. From the outside looking in it’s like I’ve completely chucked my bolt, but the spell of the Step Up films is that they just wrap you up in the melodrama until it delvers the happy ending and all’s well with the world.

Sure the acting’s mostly bland, the characters are cardboard, the writing is stilted and the soundtrack is barely average; that’s all true. Also true is the fact that gangbangers haven’t been this squeaky clean since West Side Story, and while the 4-1-0 can joke and mock High School Musical, I’m more than a little sure that Ashley Tisdale and Zac Efron can beat them all with one arm tied behind their backs.

I will say this though: the dance sequences are really good, thus proving once and for all that choreography can overcome all other ills in the production, like the presumption that roving gangs of masked teenaged dancers is a more serious problem in Baltimore than all their other problems combined. (I’ve seen The Wire; you know what I’m talking about.)

Carried on a positive wave of charm and dance talent, Step Up 2, is a crowd-pleaser for anyone that can stifle their cynical bone to just have a feel good time. Did somebody say three-quel? Fingers crossed. No, really, keep ‘em coming, the preceding review was not supposed to have been read snidely or with an ironic inflection. When it comes to simple charms and hot stepping dance sequences, Step Up 2 The Streets delivers. I’ll return to cynical next review.