In the past, I have not enjoyed this types of movie. Save the Last Dance, You Got Served, Step Up and even Drumline are all comparable to Stomp the Yard. So it goes without saying that this isn’t one of my more anticipated movies of the year. But I’m throwing all pre-conceived notions out the window, and am hoping that Stomp the Yard will take a turn away from the clichéd norm.
I don’t even know how I would classify this movie – romance, drama, musical? Regardless o… its genre, it has all those aspects included. Personally I would call this movie a comedy, not because it was funny, but because it was a joke. I’ll try not to be too harsh about this, but this movie was extremely melodramatic. I can’t believe how repetitive movies are getting these days; I’ve seen this formula been done to death. The overcoming of tragedy, just to be thrown into the face of adversity once again, only to be uplifted again leaving the whole audience inspired. This movie was bad, ridiculous even. The one thing I respected and even enjoyed about the movie was a few of the dance sequences, which were extremely complicated and impressive. In fact the only reason why I give this movie any marks at all is because of this choreography, which was entertaining to watch.
Stomp the Yard brings the acting debut of two young R&B artists – Ne-Yo and Chris Brown. The two are clearly better suited as musicians, but weren’t completely horrible. Chris Brown had quite a short role, an impressive dance routine followed up by getting murdered; I could have sworn I’ve seen it play out like that in a rap video before.
I’ll get to the point, Stomp the Yard is a weak movie, predictable, boring, and melodramatic. The characters are only skin deep and the acting is wooden. I wouldn’t recommend any to get out there and check this movie out, unless you’re part of the dance culture because there are some well choreographed scenes in that department.
Video
Presented in 2.40:1 widescreen, Stomp the Yard has a solid looking visual transfer that maintains impressive clarity during the fast moving dance sequences. Off the dance floor everything looks up to par as well, flesh tones maintain a realistic hue throughout the movie, never looking enhanced. The overall look of this movie is rather impressive, although there are a few faults; the main thing I had a problem with was the lack of detail seen on screen at random points throughout the movie mostly during night or dimly light scenes. Although the dance sequences maintained excellent clarity, other basic shots in the movie looked rather soft. In the end I was rather impressed with the video in Stomp the Yard.
Audio
Sony has included a Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track for this film, and the predominately bass heavy hip-hop tracks sound as if though you were stage side during these competitions. The dynamic range on the audio track is very well preserved, making fluent transformations between the dialogue heavy college atmosphere to the underground world of music and dance. The highlight of the track for me was how well the numerous dance scenes sounded, not only did they look great but they sounded great as well. The sound output was spectacular, all channels were effectively used and everything from the taunts to the sound of the crowd was heard with great clarity throughout the dance sequences. Overall the audio track left me quite impressed, the best aspect of this disc.
Special Features
Not a bad ensemble of features, surely enough to please fans. My personal favorite was the extended dance sequences which was probably better than the entire movie.
- Audio Commentary – Commentary by the director, editor and cinematographer, a very engaging commentary mostly specific to the technical aspects of the film.
- Battles. Rivals. Brothers – The Story of Stomp the Yard – A 17 minute making of documentary, more specifically focuses on the technical aspects of the numerous dance sequences featured throughout the movie.
- Extended Dance Sequences/Deleted Scenes – 3 extended dance sequences, two of which are extensions of dance scenes already in the film; the third is a completely new scene. As I mentioned before these scenes are spectacular, watching these 3 scenes was surely more entertaining than watching the entire movie.
- Gag Real – A 2 minute collection of gags, nothing really entertaining.
Final Thoughts
Stomp the Yard is a bad film, but it looks good and it sounds great. Along with solid audio and video transfers, this disc comes with a decent handful of features. Stomp the Yard isn’t for everyone and shouldn’t even bother being rented unless you absolutely have to see the movie. If you are already a fan, then it’s worth the buy, but otherwise stay far away.
Special Features List
- Audio Commentary
- Battles. Rivals. Brothers – The Story of Stomp the Yard
- Extended Dance Sequences/Deleted Scenes
- Gag Real
