Magic Mike’s Last Dance is the final film in one of the unlikeliest trilogies of all time. I’m a fan of the first two films, having seen them a handful of times, and while this is the weakest, I still had a great time with it. The film is very different from the first two films, focusing more on romance and less on the stripping that the franchise had become known for, which could split some people. However, I didn’t mind, as we still got some dancing while getting a better-developed story.
The film sees Mike broke and bartending after a business deal gone wrong. However, by chance, he grabs the attention of Maxandra Mendoza, a wealthy socialite who takes a liking to him and takes him to London with an offer he can’t refuse. Once in London, Mike is directing a one-night-only show at Max’s theatre alongside her.
Magic Mike’s Last Dance has the best opening in the franchise, with one of the most sensual and erotic dances ever put on screen between Salma Hayek and Channing Tatum. Despite having their clothes on during it, it was steamier and more hot & heavy than most sex scenes nowadays. After sitting out the second film, the prolific Steven Soderbergh is back in the director’s chair, and he was flexing his directing muscles because the way he captured the dance scenes was incredible. You can tell he respects the craft it takes to excel at dancing, which is challenging.
While the first two films had actors learning to strip and dance, this film had professional dancers, and they went HARD. The final 25 minutes of the film are electrifying, and it’s why you get professionals instead of actors. The finale features the best and most creative dancing Channing has ever done in this franchise. It’s a creative number with an actress I’ve never seen that had me on the edge of my seat. There’s also a subplot where the dancers follow a theater person, and the style was straight out of the Ocean’s 11 trilogy and put a smile on my face.
Salma was the MVP of the film and easily the best female character in the franchise. Since she’s the second lead, her character is more developed than past romantic interests, and I loved how bossy, funny, and empowering her character was. She brought that Latin spiciness to the film. I am still shocked at how she is 56 years old because that woman is aging like fine wine. She was one of my first celebrity crushes when I first saw Desperado in the 90s. Aside from Robert Rodriguez in their many films, no director had captured her radiant sex appeal better than Soderbergh in this film.
Her chemistry with Channing was sizzling. I loved their passion and how fast and quickly they grew to care for each other on a personal level. Unfortunately, many other Latinos and I have never understood the infatuation that white people have with “Suavemente”, a song that I have semi-grown to hate. Still, the way it’s used during a beautiful scene between the two might be the best use of that song ever.
While he doesn’t dance as much as usual, this is Channing’s best work as Mike Lane on a performance level. This trilogy is his passion project, and while it started semi-autobiographical, it’s moved away from it. His passion for dancing and art is undeniable when training the dancers, and his emotions are fully displayed during his scenes opposite Salma. Salma is miles away from a better actress than Cody Horn and Amber Heard, so Channing brought it when he needed to sell the dramatic weight of the situation he found himself in.
While the new supporting cast of dancers killed it when it came to the dance scenes, they lacked the personality and development of the OGs, and it made me miss Joe Manganiello, Matt Bomer, Kevin Nash, and Adam Rodriguez. That brotherhood they have with Channing in the first two films was a big part of what I loved about them. Soderbergh’s films tend to be very fast-paced, but this film, you felt the length, as for some reason, it’s almost two hours. I would have cut off some audition scenes to get to the show-stopping finale faster. The last major issue I have with the film is its minor use of voice-over, which did nothing for me and wasn’t needed. It felt really out of place.
Overall, if you’ve enjoyed the other films, you’ll like Magic Mike’s Last Dance. Usually, I catch a film opening weekend when I want it, but this one would be good to see this on Tuesday for Valentine’s Day.
