Magic Mike's Last Dance Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.0

Magic Mike's Last Dance Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf April 17, 2023

Just over a decade ago, “Magic Mike” rolled into theaters offering a boisterous time to excitable viewers interested in the seductive moves of male strippers, with writer Reid Carolin hoping to support all the gyrating with a sobering look at the personal problems facing the characters. The movie was modestly budgeted and turned into a major hit, giving star Channing Tatum and director Steven Soderbergh a shot at creating a most unlikely franchise. Audiences were a little less interested in 2015’s meandering “Magic Mike XXL,” but Tatum has managed to make a major business out of this underlit world, overseeing the creation a stage musical and even a reality T.V. show, and now he’s ready to return to shirtless, Blue Steel duty with “Magic Mike’s Last Dance.” Soderbergh and Tatum attempt to turn away from uninspired pranks and general aimlessness with the second sequel, now on the hunt for a “let’s put on a show!” vibe with this take on the formation of a stripper-heavy theatrical production, hoping to merge some major physical artistry with grind-happy sequences in what’s easily the best installment of this oddball trilogy.

After watching his beloved furniture business go bust during the painful days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Mike (Channing Tatum) is trying to make ends meet as a bartender, recognizing he’s aged out of the stripping game for good. Working a party for influential businesswoman Maxandra (Salma Hayek), Mike is unexpectedly called into duty when the woman admits she needs a cheap thrill to help calm herself while going through a divorce from her powerful media mogul husband. When Mike’s special lap dance turns into a religious event for Maxandra, she demands he join her on a visit to London, where she’s in charge of a theater dedicated to the production of stuffy costume dramas. Maxandra believes Mike can deliver a major theatrical offering focusing on his stripping experience and the celebration of women, putting him in charge of the controversial program. Initially hesitant to return to his roots, Mike soon finds his way into the project, assembling a lively evening of “permission” for grateful guests, but such a vision is challenged throughout the development period, facing a fiery, frustrated Maxandra and her marital and psychological troubles.

Times are truly tough for Mike, who went from stage stardom and good times with his fellow dancers to the banality of a bartending gig with a catering company. The character is in a strange place in “Magic Mike’s Last Dance,” reaching the forbidden zone of his forties without a secure life plan, left to make ends meet as his dream dies and he leaves behind his stripping days, facing a new financial reality. However, he’s still in great shape (crediting that to genetics, as Mike hates vegetables – officially classifying the picture as a fantasy), and Maxandra notices, taking advice from a friend to hold on to him after her numbing party and pay the ex-magic man for some special attention. A major dance number commences, with Mike showcasing his seductive, acrobatic moves in a lengthy sequence, with Soderbergh highlighting Maxandra’s thunderstruck response to this pure physical contact, sent into a sexual frenzy that’s choreographed as a couples dance, not just a bump-and-grind. It’s the old “Magic Mike” ways, given refreshed intimacy by Tatum and Hayek, who don’t share electric chemistry as actors, but play well enough together.

Getting out of Florida, “Magic Mike’s Last Dance” travels to London, where Maxandra is doing business and battling with her icy ex-husband, joined by her sophisticated daughter (who provides poetic narration) and a loyal butler who hears all. While the old “Magic Mike” gang makes a brief cameo via video conferencing, this is Mike’s journey, brought into a business plan with Maxandra, tasked with putting together a hot show for a stuffy theater crowd. Conflicts are plentiful, including the producer’s limited patience with anything and her own main character syndrome, while Mike is overwhelmed by the daunting challenge of theater performance at first, getting into the rhythm of arduous rehearsals, with plans to bring the particulars of his night with Maxandra to the stage. “Magic Mike’s Last Dance” remains relatively simple in vision, with Soderbergh sticking to personal problems, including communication and attraction issues between Mike and Maxandra. However, he does break free from the twosome, offering a fun sequence where the dancers are tasked with wowing a local licensing official with a beefcake take on “Swan Lake,” performed during her daily bus ride.

Magic Mike's Last Dance Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (2.39:1 aspect ratio) presentation works with Soderbergh's preference for moodier cinematography. Stage events handle with more active hues, dealing with heavy blues and reds in lighting schemes. Domestic interiors are more subdued, with a darker presence, but frame information remains. Exteriors deliver crisper primaries and defined greenery. Skin tones are natural. Detail is appreciable, exploring extensive skin particulars and fibrous outfits. Theater decoration is also open for inspection, joined by living spaces. Some mild banding is detected.

Magic Mike's Last Dance Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA mix obviously leads with soundtrack selections, which handle with a commanding presence, managing rock, electro pop, and rap tunes. Beats are heavy, inspiring low-end response, and instrumentation is crisp. Scoring is also commanding, with a sharper synth sound. Surrounds push out musical moods, creating an enveloping sense of life inside the theater during rehearsals and performances, adding in crowd atmospherics to boost the celebratory mood of the moment. Atmospherics are somewhat modest away from the bump and grind stuff, exploring community bustle and interior movement. Dialogue exchanges are clear, handling hushed conversations and heavy accents.

Magic Mike's Last Dance Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• "Magic Mike's New Moves" (6:24, HD) is an EPK-style overview of production achievements, with actors Channing Tatum and Salma Hayek (interviews are recorded on-set) exploring the story and its origins, with the success of the "Magic Mike" stage show inspiring the creation of the third film. Focus turns to dance, with choreographers Luke Broadlick and Alison Faulk highlighting the work put into the stage performances, including Tatum's climatic rain dance. The featurette also celebrates the work of individual dancers, most pulled from the touring show.

• "Edna Expanded" (8:05, HD) is the full sequence involving the "Swan Lake" scheme, adding additional fantasy and dance elements to the feature, which should've remained in the film.

• A Theatrical Trailer has not been included on this release.

Magic Mike's Last Dance Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"Magic Mike's Last Dance" hits mild dramatic highs and lows, which doesn't contribute to a stunning viewing experience, but there's more structure to this picture than in previous installments. Focus on the big show helps immensely, with the last act of the effort capturing stage events with flexible dancers, including a duet in a rainstorm that permits the talent to slide around the floor, adding some welcome momentum to the performance. "Magic Mike's Last Dance" has more artistic highlights and interesting physical action than the previous two chapters while still retaining the core appeal of watching Mike and his men rub themselves over bewitched customers. The occasional obnoxiousness and melodrama of the other features has been smoothed out here, replaced with showmanship and personality, resulting in a more compelling endeavor.