BRING IT ON: WORLDWIDE #CHEERSMACK

US, 2017, 95 minutes, Colour.
Cristine Prosperi, Gia Lodge- O' Malley, Jordan Rodriguez, Stephan Benson,, Vivica A. Fox.
Directed by Robert Adetuyi.

The original Bring It On film was a great commercial success, starring Kirsten Dunst, and produced quite a number of sequels. 17 years after the original film, this film was made, reprising a lot of the themes.

This is a film for the young audience and for those who enjoy films about competitive dancing and rivalries. It is very similar to the kind of Step Up dancing films which were very popular as well as the theme behind the Pitch Perfect series.

The film focuses on the Rebels, led by Destiny, a young woman who is not plagued by self-doubt. She is in absolute command, brooking no opposition. By and large, the members of the group kowtow to her. This is true even of her close friend from childhood days, Willow, who eventually does take some stands. Another young woman is rebellious and leaves and goes to a rival group who continually confront the Rebels with videos of their dancing as well as taunts and challenges.

It would seem that there is a worldwide union for cheerleaders and their dance routines. Destiny wants to keep to the traditions and continues to make demands on the team. However, she comes in contact with two young men who offer some rivalry but are rather indifferent to Destiny. One of them, Blake, is a rather acrobatic dancer and, eventually, there is no surprise that they fall in love, that Blake and his friend join the team (and Willow falling in love), and, most importantly, that Destiny comes to her senses, is told off by some, and – no surprise – in the world finale, the Rebels win.

Cheerleading seems to be so important around the world, aided by social media, websites with interviews and publicity – with one of them hosted by the Cheer Goddess, played by Vivica A.Fox who hands at all kind of advice and commentary.

With such a multiplicity of films on these themes, this one could get lost because it is much the same as the others – except with the authoritarianism of Destiny and her having to face herself and truth.