Despite the amazing choreography, the story for this chick-bait film is pretty thin. It’s more of a fairy tale than anything remotely believable from start to finish. Director Steven Soderbergh is back for this three-quel, zeroing in on the twists, turns, thrusts and contortions of the likable Channing Tatum and his band of grinding, undulating 12-pack ab dancers.
Down on his luck, Mike Lane (Channing), is working as a bartender at a wealthy socialite’s party. Maxandra Mendoza (Salma Hayek Pinault) takes notice and asks him to come upstairs for a private audience and the dance games begin.
Credit goes to Salma Hayek who has a body that doesn’t quit as well, and she’s more stunning than ever. We just didn’t think of her as a romantic match for Channing, even though they tried so hard to make it work, crawling all over each other in the first pulsating dance.
Channing Tatum is a magnificent example of sexy, pliable, and strong. It was great fun watching him show off his body, but also his comedic acting with Sandra Bullock in 2022’s The Lost City. He was good in the first two Magic Mike Films and in Dog. He’s a competent actor with a calm, engaging, approachable demeanor, even when he’s going through extraordinary contortions dancing.
Unfortunately this film becomes a husband/wife revenge story trying to save a theater in London Max wants to put up as a racy, hit production to show up her rich philandering husband. It’s all about putting on a show to make money. Welcome to The Producers. As Maxandra, Hayek definitely plays a gal in charge in a man’s world throwing around money and giving orders. She’s a ball buster, but the chemistry with Channing just doesn’t work.
Writer Reid Carolin, (Magic Mike and XXL, Dog, White House Down) doesn’t do a bad job trying to make the premise believable. There doesn’t need to be much dialogue because there is so much dancing. There’s nothing terribly exciting about the dialogue there is. It’s just more sappy than clever.
Channing Tatum picking up and throwing Hayak all over himself is entertaining to a point. But then, Soderbergh intercuts flashbacks of their dance in the beginning of the film as a sort of look back at the start of their emotional relationship. It’s very contrived.
The absolute best part of this film is the choreography by Alison Faulk and Luke Broadlick. Seeing Channing train his band of male dancers and then perform them in sync is well done. But the most impressive choreography and a welcome change in the film comes toward the grand finale. Watching Channing and his ballet partner Kylie Shea, glide, slide, and writhe across a soaking wet stage is skillfully executed with more passion than we see between he and Salma Hayek. There was more emotion in this section than in any other part of the film. The remainder of the movie sort of drops off the edge of the stage.
We were hoping for so much more comedy and heart tugging emotion from this final installment. Channing and his dancers hit their marks, but the story is lacking. Time for Magic Mike, not Channing, to hang up his shoes. While female audiences will eat up the eye-candy, this last dance has hit its last gasp.
Warner Bros. Pictures 1 Hour 52 Minutes R
