Reuniting, or really, introducing, the gang is a gimmick. It's also self-destructive-cramming in all these characters chokes up the plot, and who watches a Step Up for the plot?
When you remove the popping, locking, crunking and breaking from the equation, what is left is ... melodrama, shorthanded plotting, and lame characterisation.
Usually these films kick off with a splashy ensemble number to get everyone in the mood but here instead there's a deliberately deflating audition montage.
