The Magic Mike films have always been an interesting franchise. Penned by Reid Carolin, Magic Mike is Steven Soderbergh’s rather self-serious financial crisis drama with some strippers and Magic Mike XXL is Gregory Jacobs’ full blown, comedic road trip film that leans fully into the stripping and comradery of its cast. With Magic Mike’s Last Dance, once again written by Carolin, Soderbergh returns to the directing seat to conclude the trilogy of Channing Tatum’s Mike Lane.
Following the COVID related collapse of his custom-made furniture business, Mike finds himself bartending gigs through Florida, where he meets a wealthy socialite in Maxandra Mendoza, played by Salma Hayek, who whisks him off to London with an offer he can’t refuse. In London, Mike is tasked to put on a whole new show at The Rattigan, a theatre ostensibly owned by Maxandra, as a way of getting back at her soon to be ex-husband.
It was always going to be interesting to see what Soderbergh was going to bring to the table, returning to the Magic Mike franchise. While mostly positive, the first film has always been plagued by a bit of an over-serious plot when most people just wanted to see Channing Tatum tear up the stage with his tremendous dance moves. Following that, Gregory Jacobs came in and brought audiences a fun road trip film that did away with the drug deals and inner conflicts and leant more into the dancing and charisma of the cast audiences had come to love, including the likes of Tatum’s Mike, Matt Bomer’s Ken and Joe Manganillo as fan favourite Big Dick Richie.
With Last Dance, however, Soderbergh has retaken the reins over this pony and done away with most of what fans loved about XXL and has instead chosen to reintroduce the dramatic side of Mike’s story. While amplified with a bit more comedy in comparison to Magic Mike, Last Dance feels as though Soderbergh has found the balance of drama and comedy that he was aiming for in the first film. With some laugh out loud moments, as well as quieter beats of drama, the film mostly works at developing its plot, albeit a seemingly harmless and somewhat uninteresting one. This is both thanks to Carolin’s screenplay and Tatum and Hayek’s performances. Along with the leads, the film also introduces some fun new side characters, in Maxandra’s butler, her daughter Zadie, and a cast of new dancers pulled from a variety of dancing backgrounds.
Unfortunately though, this is where the film really hurts itself as the finale to the Magic Mike trilogy. Through the previous two films, audiences came to know and love Mike and his fellow dancers. Ken, Tito, Tarzan and Big Dick Richie all became the beating heart of the previous film, and sadly Soderbergh has chosen to do away with their characters outside of a small cameo scene and has instead decided to have Mike meet and train new dancers. While this had potential to work and be a way of showing Mike breaking out of his comfort zone of those he knows and loves, these new dancers are barely given a line of dialogue or individual character due to the film being held up on Mike and Max’s relationship.
In choosing to do this, Carolin and Soderbergh have created a film that feels so far removed from the previous films outside of its main character. Tatum gives his all as Mike once again and shows audiences why they’ve come to love him and his films. Unfortunately though, that is far from enough to give the franchise the big finale that it and its fans deserve. While the film’s individual finale is an exciting one, almost all of the film’s dancing is finally shown in its climax. Bar one or two other dance numbers through the film, Last Dance has a severe lack of what audiences come to see Magic Mike for. Stripping. Instead, spending its time on a relationship that is extremely surface level and rushed, the film lacks those sporadic dance numbers that make its predecessors more engaging. While it’s not all bad, a lot of the dance numbers here feel a little undercooked and never rise to the heated levels of the previous films, feeling rather tame by comparison.
What does save the movie though, is Channing Tatum. He delivers in full force here, bringing great dramatic chops, his charming comedic quips and his brilliant physicality in the film’s few dance numbers. It’s for the fact that audiences have come to know and love Mike that they will give Last Dance their time. Feeling like a rather nice end to his character arc over the three films, finally being given the control over something that he’s clearly passionate about, the film does feel as if it’s also betraying his character by removing the ones around him that have seen him through all of this.
Despite that, there is still some enjoyment to be had with Magic Mike’s Last Dance. It has some passable drama, a lot of light-hearted comedy and some great dance numbers, although they are sparse. Carolin and Soderbergh have delivered a sadly lacklustre finale to the Magic Mike trilogy; though Channing Tatum’s performance feels genuine and committed that it’s hard not to feel at least a little engaged with the whole thing. With a heartfelt end for Mike’s dancing days, the film makes up for its lack of previously loved characters and relationships in its own individual finale that will be sure to entertain those who are just here for a little bit of stripping. I just wish Big Dick Richie came back.
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Cast: Channing Tatum, Salma Hayek, Caitlin Gerard
Writer: Reid Carolin
