DANCE movies seem to be enjoying an unexpected resurgence this year: first the slick moves of Honey, then the bump and grind of Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights (yet to see the light of day this side of the Atlantic).

Now, there's body-popping, back flips and bad attitude to excess in You Got Served, a street-dancing fairy-tale set in the alleyways and warehouses of present day Los Angeles.

Best friends Elgin (Marques Houston) and David (Grandberry) are the founders and ringleaders of a hip-hop street dance crew.

Their posse includes Rico (Jarell Houston), Vick (Thornton) and Rashaan (Frederic), who grew up with Elgin and David in the neighbourhood and are like brothers to one another.

This tight-knit band of talented youngsters takes on all comers at gladiatorial contests where crowd appreciation decides who goes home with the prize money.

The two friends get the first taste of defeat when Rico defects to a rival team, taking with him all of Elgin and David's sharp moves.

Soon after, the Los Angeles crew falls apart after David misses an important meeting with Elgin to enjoy a date with his best mate's baby sister Liyah (Freeman).

When MTV announces a nation-wide dance-off, The Big Bounce, to find the hottest street dance crew in the land, Elgin and David have to put their differences to one side to unite and give the traitorous Rico a masterclass in rhythm.

You Got Served turns up the soundtrack volume to ear-splitting decibel levels from the opening credits.

You will feel your fillings rattle in your head as the cinema throbs to the crash, bang, wallop of dancers somersaulting and stomping to the growling hip-hop beats.

Writer-director Christopher B Stokes frenetically edits each sequence, afraid to leave the camera stationary even for an instant, which reduces the impact of some of the choreography.

Houston and Grandberry look slick on the dance floor but they can't act.

They deliver their lines completely flat, as if reading each one off a prompt board held just out of shot, and the romance between Grandberry and Freeman has no sexual chemistry whatsoever.

Dialogue is stilted, which doesn't help the handful of real actors among the cast, and the cameos are embarrassing, including Lil' Kim as herself in the film's climactic dance showdown.

DAMON SMITH