A slightly above average film largely due to an unexpectedly heartwarming, inspired performance from Antonio Banderas.

| Original Score: 2.5/4.0 | Sep 25, 2020

Take the Lead won't win any originality contests, but the new Antonio Banderas vehicle manages to work, thanks to a solid cast and some nice work by director Liz Friedlander.

| Original Score: B- | Nov 19, 2019

Take the Lead, a dramatised retread of the hit documentary Mad Hot Ballroom, is so awful it defies describing.

| Oct 7, 2018

Lean on Me meets Strictly Ballroom. Tough two-step replaces tough love.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Jun 16, 2007

Feels like a product, with decisions made for audience appeal rather than creativity.

| Original Score: 1.5/5 | Apr 8, 2007

For the most part, Liz Friedlander's direction and frenetic pacing mitigate any real performance opportunities.

| Mar 1, 2007

A fun romp of a flick that showcases the power of dance and the human spirit.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Nov 2, 2006

The poster says 'Never follow', while the movie itslef follows every cliche in the book.

| Original Score: 1.5/4 | Jun 11, 2006

A feel-good story using music and dance to guide problem kids onto the straight and narrow.....entertaining, although not the showstopper we might hope for

| May 13, 2006

A bogus, trumped-up 'inspirational' ending goes on forever and all but ruins everything.

| Original Score: 2/5 | May 12, 2006

A scattering of dance sequences that fuse hip-hop and classical beats provide a few shots of energy, but Take The Lead otherwise plods through the motions.

| Original Score: 2/5 | May 6, 2006

It's still enjoyable, but never as strong as it should be.

| Original Score: 2.5/5 | May 6, 2006

Take the Lead offers few if any surprises to anyone who's seen either the aforementioned Breakin', Beat Street, or, most obvious of all, Dangerous Minds.

| Original Score: 2.5/5 | May 6, 2006

While their transformation is predictable, it's quietly enjoyable, and the teen angle opens the door to romance and gritty gang-war subplots.

Full Review | May 6, 2006

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | May 6, 2006

The energy and rhythm keep it moving along gracefully.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | May 6, 2006

Liz Friedlander's "Take the Lead" is a fine example of how all the good intentions in the world can't make a poorly conceived movie good, though a good central performance can at least make it bearable.

Full Review | Original Score: C- | May 5, 2006

Their acceptance of the tango and foxtrot never seems like much of a dance dance revolution; if you're looking for more than just impressive dancing, well, you got served.

| Original Score: 2/4 | May 4, 2006

...it goes through it's checklist, epitomized in 80's inspirational student-triumphs-over-socioeconomic-pseudoreality films like "Lean on Me" and its lesser-known predecessor "Stand and Deliver"...

| May 3, 2006

As even the film's dance students note in an aside designed to preempt exactly this criticism, this Michelle Pfeiffer plot is corny.

| Apr 23, 2006