Magic Mike’s Last Dance

I’ve seen all three movies and I think I like XXL the best. The second movie was a perfect enhancement of what was done in the first movie. You want more Magic Mike? We’ll give you more, hence the subtitle.

Having Steven Soderbergh direct all three movies was enough to give a film series about a male stripper all the depth and substance it needed, but this third movie feels they wanted to add more, which they did, but then the film loses the purpose of the franchise entirely.

On one side it was a genius move to have Salma Hayek in the picture. I’m not here to watch Channing Tatum, but I would be lying if I said I did not love the scene where Magic Mike was grinding all over sexy as hell Hayek. On the other side of that, Hayek was center stage in this movie, not just because she was more pleasurable for me to look at, but her performance proves that Tatum is not the best actor. I’ll give him credit in understanding that he knows how to pick up the chemistry in his body movement, but it was too obvious who the better thespian was. Far too much of this film leaned toward Hayek without trying.

What last dance had that XXL had and what made XXL a better movie was there is something strangely humorous about Magic Mike being an ex-stripper getting back into the game. It seems to be no different than watching a movie about a boxer getting back into the ring or an old soldier who realizes he’s good for nothing else but combat. Yeah, somehow, I’m comparing Magic Mike to John Wyck cause I needed to get through this movie.

Honestly, this movie was easier to stomach than the other two. Like as said, they wanted to add some more substance to the film and what that seem to mean was when they got to the parts where the men were dancing, and I wanted to shut my eyes those parts did not last that long, like they did in the other films. That’s funny, Magic Mike is for the ladies, right? Despite this one being even more women centric they decided to minimize the… magic Mike is known for. I think you but I wonder how many women do.

Magic Mike’s Last Dance is different enough form the other two movies that in order to truly see how good it is I have to keep that in mind. While XXL increase what you get form Magic Mike, this one takes an obvious sidestep, that was good enough but not better than what came before.