‘Magic Mike’s Last Dance’: What critics are saying about Channing Tatum’s new movie
Channing Tatum returned to the big screen this weekend in “Magic Mike’s Last Dance,” the third installment in his film series about an exotic dancer who longs for respect, love — and possibly a career that doesn’t require him to bump and grind.
Tatum, 42, an Alabama native, found massive success with the first two movies, and now helms a “Magic Mike” franchise that includes a popular live show in Las Vegas. Fans have eagerly anticipated a new “Magic Mike” movie, this time directed by Oscar-winner Steven Soderbergh and co-starring Salma Hayek Pinault as Mike’s love interest.
Here’s the plot synopsis of “Last Dance,” posted on the movie site Rotten Tomatoes:
“‘Magic Mike’ Lane (Channing Tatum) takes to the stage again after a lengthy hiatus, following a business deal that went bust, leaving him broke and taking bartender gigs in Florida. For what he hopes will be one last hurrah, Mike heads to London with a wealthy socialite (Salma Hayek Pinault) who lures him with an offer he can’t refuse … and an agenda all her own. With everything on the line, once Mike discovers what she truly has in mind, will he — and the roster of hot new dancers he’ll have to whip into shape — be able to pull it off?”
RELATED: Salma Hayek on Channing Tatum giving her a lap dance in ‘Magic Mike’: ‘I deserve it’
As of Sunday afternoon, “Last Dance” appears to be pleasing audiences and generating a lukewarm response from critics. The movie earned a score of 76% percent from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes, but only 46% from reviewers. (Rotten Tomatoes aggregates reviews and comes up with a percentage rating based on how “fresh” a film is considered to be.)
“Last Dance” also topped the box office on a slow movie weekend, “generating a decent $8.2 million from only 1,500 North American theaters,” according to report from Variety. “It’s the lowest start yet in the decade-old franchise following 2012′s ‘Magic Mike’ (which opened to $39 million) and 2015′s ‘Magic Mike XXL’ (which opened to $12.8 million),” Variety said on Sunday.
READ: 7 reasons guys might enjoy ‘Magic Mike XXL’
After just a few days in theaters, the jury’s still out on “Magic Mike’s Last Dance.” And the question remains: Should you go or no? Here’s what some reviewers had to say about the film.
“‘Toothless’ probably isn’t the first word ‘Magic Mike’ fans want to associate with Channing Tatum’s aging exotic dancer series, but there’s no denying the female-targeting franchise has dulled its bite over the past decade. If the Walt Disney Co. had made a movie about male strippers, it might look something like ‘Magic Mike’s Last Dance,’ a soft, in-name-only sequel to the 2012 hit, whose title is about as convincing as reports of director Steven Soderbergh’s retirement.”
Leah Greenblatt, Entertainment Weekly:
“To strip, perchance to dream; such were the humble hopes of Channing Tatum’s ‘Magic’ Mike Lane when this all began. … (Director) Soderbergh departed for its brightly chaotic 2015 followup, and so did much of the urgency. Now both he and Tatum have returned — minus most other first-run cast members, beyond one brief Zoom interlude — for ‘Last Dance,’ an oddly inward and unhurried swan song that that still shows flashes of the original’s pelvis-forward bedazzlement.”
A.O. Scott, The New York Times:
“Like its predecessors, ‘Last Dance’ never forgets that it’s a musical at heart. (Director) Soderbergh, also serving as cinematographer and editor (under his customary pseudonyms, Peter Andrews and Mary Ann Bernard), keeps our eye on the bodies in motion. The dance numbers, choreographed by Alison Faulk and Luke Broadlick, feel a bit tame this time around, but the movie still pays ample respect to the terpsichorean craft practiced by Tatum and the hard-working members of Mike’s ensemble. As a romance, though, it demonstrates flat feet and balky rhythm.”
“‘Magic Mike’s Last Dance’ (is), at various times: a romcom, a dance flick, a heist movie (briefly), a fairy tale, multiple types of novel (romance, modern literary fiction, a touch of YA but not in a weird way), the barn-burning rewrite of a nonexistent play with ‘Madame Bovary’ undertones, that thing where you just gotta put on the show, an absurdly meta meditation on what it means to have a ‘strong female heroine,’ and a movie about the economy … It helps that Tatum is, as always, charming and goofy and handsome and fun.”
Matt Zoller Seitz, RogerEbert.com:
“‘Magic Mike’s Last Dance’ is a patchwork that takes itself absolutely seriously as entertainment, but wears other ambitions lightly. There are dance numbers, romantic melodrama contrivances, and odd but intriguing 19th-century affectations … Many scenes place the working-class-hero in situations where he’s out of his depth. Asked about his plans for Act Three, Mike says, ‘Uh, we’re doin’ it!’”
Larushka Ivan-Zadeh, Metro UK:
“If you just want a giggle and a goggle at racks of six-packs while Tatum channels his inner ‘magical unicorn’ then this film is for you. But mainly, it feels like your brain’s being given a very drunken lap dance. … The script is completely bananas. Tatum gets to say, ‘I don’t f*** with vegetables’ while picking cucumber out of his sandwiches. Both he and Hayek Pinault are sensational to watch, but their spray tans have more depth than their characters.”
“Those who adore Channing Tatum’s abs still have plenty to enjoy with “Magic Mike’s Last Dance,” director Steven Soderbergh’s musical dramedy and trilogy closer. But here’s something fans of the first two films’ more raucous, stripper-ific sequences may not want to hear: Tamer and what one could arguably call classier, this movie trades bromantic machismo and beefcake high jinks for female empowerment and character maturity, though still boasting hunky dudes and clothes being ripped off.”
“‘Magic Mike’s Last Dance’ is not a standout in the franchise. As a conclusion to Mike’s story, it’s underwhelming at best. The sizzling energy is gone, and it certainly doesn’t relish in the joy of the fantasy it presents. But Tatum and Hayek Pinault have good enough chemistry and the plot is intriguing enough to keep the audience engaged. They just won’t leave the theater as fulfilled as they were with the two previous films, and that is disappointing.”
“Even though the flaws in ‘Last Dance’ are glaringly obvious — not only is this the worst of the ‘Magic Mike’ franchise, it’s also clunky in a way Soderbergh films rarely are — it’s still hard to not get caught up in the celebration of it all. This has always been an odd little series, and Soderbergh and Tatum revel in the opportunity to have fun in this world for the last time, play around with this universe, try some weird things out, and just go out with one final bang.”
Linda Marric, The Jewish Chronicle:
“There’s no denying it, this is a far cry from Soderbergh’s much loved original film. With a preposterously pedestrian storyline and a laughably implausible premise, ‘Magic Mike’s Last Dance’ feels stunted, outdated and just plain silly. … All in all, this was a huge disappointment and is only just about elevated by Tatum who is evidently incapable of delivering a single bad performance.”
This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Channing Tatum, left, and Kylie Shea in a scene from “Magic Mike’s Last Dance.” (Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)