SYNOPSIS:
Brooklyn teenager Izzy Daniels is training to become a boxing
champ because it's his dad's dream. Yet intrigued by the cool
moves in Double Dutch, he agrees to help out his neighbour
Mary when she needs a fourth member on her jump rope team.
The sport takes more than talent and teamwork than Izzy expected
but along the way, he learns it's more important to follow
his own heart.
MOVIE REVIEW
I
have just finished watching the hit Disney Channel Original
Movie High School
Musical (for the umpteenth time, no less), and I must
say that I’m impressed with 18-year-old Corbin Bleu.
In the 2006 musical, he dances, he sings and plays basketball.
In this 2007 sports movie also produced by Disney Channel,
he boxes, he does Double Dutch (more on this later), and most
impressively, he emotes in a number of heartfelt scenes no
other teen stars can.
Bleu plays
a teenager who follows his father’s victorious footsteps
in boxing. But when an opportunity comes along which allows
him to train in a Double Dutch tournament, the young man realizes
that his passion for the rope jumping sport.
I didn’t
know this before watching this movie: Double Dutch is a jump-rope
sport which has two team members swinging two ropes, while
one or two other members performing tricks in the middle.
And it is taken very seriously in the movie. Why else would
there be a hyped up competition which matters so much to the
characters?
With remarkable
and astounding scenes like those from Stomp the Yard, the
stunts are breathtakingly choreographed, with many of them
performed very nicely by Bleu himself. With his lean and mean
physique, the role seems to be tailor-made for him. You have
to see the rope-jumping tricks to believe this.
Meanwhile,
in true Disney fashion, there are themes of friendship, teamwork,
following your dreams and being true to yourself in this feel-good
production. The protagonist’s friend is played by KeKe
Palmer, whom we last saw in the inspiring Akeelah and the
Bee. The chemistry between the two African American child
actors are spot on, and you won’t be expecting any awkward
scenes between the two of them.
The
84-minute picture may not score any points in terms of originality
and creativity, but you’d still find yourself smiling
at the family-friendly movie.
SPECIAL FEATURES :
This Code 3 DVD contains two music videos “Jumpin”
performed by Palmer and “Vertical”
performed by hip-hop band T-Squad. Elsewhere, Bleu teaches
you the art of Double Dutch in the 5-minute “Learning
the Moves” featurette, that is, if you really
think you can jump rope like him in that short time span.
In the 6-minute “Inside The Ropes: The Making
of Jump In!”, we see the stars perform their
own stunts – kudos to them.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
The disc’s visual transfer captures the thrills of Double
Dutch nicely, and you can choose between 5.1 Dolby English,
2.0 Surround Japanese, Mandarin, Spanish or Portuguese.
MOVIE RATING:
 
DVD
RATING :
Review
by John Li
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