REVIEW: Magic Mike’s Last Dance Is No Happy Ending

Everyone’s favorite male dancer, Mike, returns for one final dance in Magic Mike’s Last Dance. This final installment in the franchise finds Mike (Channing Tatum) crossing paths with a powerful woman, Maxandra Mendoza (Salma Hayek Pinault) on the brink of losing it all. In the midst of a stressful separation from her unfaithful and wealthy husband, Max wants one final stab at him, and she is set to have Mike help her do this.

Unfortunately, what Max envisions doesn’t quite line up with what Mike sees himself doing. When he finds himself suddenly directing a play at Max’s newly acquired theater in London, Mike feels as if he is way out of his league. As rehearsals get underway, and the one-night show only a month away, Mike finds himself tasked with a project he’s not sure he can accomplish and striving for a relationship with a woman who isn’t sure what she wants.

Director Steven Soderbergh, who directed the first Magic Mike, returns for this third feature, alongside screenwriter Reid Carolin. Even though Soderbergh is no stranger to the franchise, it doesn’t seem like he is with this new addition. This iteration has lost the appeal of the prior films: fun fantasy. Audiences go to a film like Magic Mike to be thoroughly entertained. They aren’t looking for a film such as this, that attempts to be a bit more of a think-piece on the beauty of dance. Audiences aren’t looking for a ton of drama or a plot that makes you stop and think, which this film attempts. At the end of the day Last Dance makes little sense and entirely misses the mark of having a ridiculously good time.

One of the biggest issues with the film is that it no longer buys in to its own ridiculousness. Instead, Last Dance tries to create some visionary romance that completely falls flat. The characters are underdeveloped, the dancing is lacking, and while a plot isn’t needed, a weak one is attempted which ultimately ends up distracting from the fun fluff of the film. Nothing flows or connects throughout the film, which makes for a very rough viewing experience.

Tatum returns as male dancer, Mike, and honestly doesn’t miss a beat. Tatum is charming enough to carry a character like Mike, even with no material to work with. Hayek Pinault plays the film’s leading lady Max, and this character does no justice to the talent that is Hayek Pinault. Her character has no solid personality, only emotions that are all over the place, and never actually explained at any point throughout the film.

Magic Mike’s Last Dance is definitely not the grand finale fans will be hoping for. It’s ridiculous in the worst way and it is no way to celebrate either Galentine’s Day or Valentine’s Day.

Grade: C-