The Magic Mike trilogy is the least trilogy-like trilogy on the market that isn’t merely a thematic trilogy. The three movies share lots of the identical characters, however are very not like one another in tone and message. It’s an idea befitting Steven Soderbergh, a director identified for his eccentric stylings and being in every single place in course, tone, and transferring language. Soderbergh’s first entry within the franchise skewered male stripping as a lot as celebrated it, commenting on the financial divide that motivates such a profession and the shallow trappings of pleasure that it entails. The second entry wasn’t directed by Soderbergh, and wound up being a road-trip bro film as a lot as any sort of financial commentary.
Magic Mike’s Final Dance is much more faraway from the opposite movies, tossing away the entire characters apart from Magic Mike himself (other than temporary Zoom cameos) to develop into probably the most romance-focused of the three. It’s a weird type of movie, and one which doesn’t actually work that properly. We see Mike Lane working as a bartender in Miami, all of his previous endeavors having seemingly failed, when Salma Hayek hires him for one wonderful dance. It actually is a tremendous dance, and a seamless power of this franchise are its well-choreographed dance scenes. Soderbergh captures the power and enthusiasm of dancing. Sadly, on this movie there’s awkward narration about dancing and its historical past, and the try at profound commentary on male stripping falls flat on its face.
In any case, Hayek is so enthralled and so massively wealth that she pays for Mike Lane to come back throughout the pond to London the place the remainder of the movie takes place. She hires him to direct a brand new, horny dance model of a stuffy previous British play that’s at present occupying Hayek’s ex-husband’s theater. What follows is a mish-mash of underwritten themes and story beats. The movie juggles feminism, extra gentle financial commentary, dream achievement, and extra, all whereas utilizing the broad outlines of a really commonplace “placing on a present” story.
Whereas Channing Tatum continues to allure on this function, Final Dance fails to fulfill. For one, there are hardly any of the franchise’s iconic dance scenes. We get a bunch of them again to again within the ultimate act when the present Mike and his sugar-momma have been engaged on is placed on, in a frankly nonsensical transfer the place the play’s storyline is totally dropped. Silliness apart, the movie’s ultimate dance sequence is incredible, but it surely comes far too late.
Hayek is ok in her function, however her character feels under-baked, as do many within the movie. There’s a butler and daughter character, neither adequately explored. Storylines are picked up and dropped. The movie recruits a ton of dancer characters who’re given completely no persona by any means. Gone is the piercing examination of the stripping business and changing it’s close to whole glorification of it.
Magic Mike’s Final Dance concludes the trilogy on a lame word. As an alternative of gyrating to a climatic conclusion, it limply flounders on the ground.
