Eschewing shaded characterization and often basic sense, and establishing what should be the high-water mark for most crotch-grabbing in a single film in 2013, Battle of the Year drapes a pro forma narrative over lots of acrobatic hip hop dancing. It’s not a good film, necessarily, but director Benson Lee, drawing inspiration from his 2008 documentary Planet B-Boy, at least crafts a vehicle that establishes a certain sub-cultural milieu and delivers what viewers most predisposed to movies like this are most interested in. Unfortunately, the script is utterly lacking in interesting characters, it awkwardly shoehorns in a bunch of product placement, and it then works its way through choices ranging from misguided to risible — like having dancing cure a character’s homophobia. For the full, original review, from Screen Daily, click here. (Sony, PG-13, 109 minutes)
