“Magic Mike’s Last Dance”: A fiery Salma Hayek for Channing Tatum

“Magic Mike’s Last Dance”
A fiery Salma Hayek for Channing Tatum

After “Magic Mike” from 2012 and the sequel “Magic Mike XXL” from 2015, the third coup follows: Channing Tatum (42) returns to the screen as Mike Lane. The former stripper seems to have finally said goodbye to his job on stage in “Magic Mike – The Last Dance” (theatrical release: February 9), when a bold lady comes around the corner with a lucrative offer.

“Magic Mike – The Last Dance”: London Calling

Mike Lane aka Magic Mike, who now keeps his head above water with a bartender job, meets the society lady Maxandra Mendoza (Salma Hayek, 56) and lets himself be carried away to what is supposed to be a last dance. The entrepreneur likes what she sees and makes Mike an offer. He is supposed to travel to London with her to put on a special show in her venerable theater.

Once there, it’s not just the worlds of British chic and Mike’s Miami attitude that collide. The duo’s ideas about which show will convince the audience also differ. To make matters worse, Maxandra’s husband intervenes, who wants to prevent the unconventional show, for which the Regency play “Isabel Ascendent” is to make way.

As with the first part, Steven Soderbergh (60, “Ocean’s Eleven”) again directed the second part, he took over the camera and the editing. The script was written by Reid Carolin (41), he was already responsible for films one and two. The well-known creative team tried to find new impulses in the third part. Not only London as a new setting and contrast to sunny Florida brings new impetus to the series.

New place, new faces and a feminist touch

Except for a small, virtual reunion with old “Magic Mike” acquaintances, the comedy mainly comes up with new characters. Above all, Salma Hayek’s Maxandra. With her, Mike has a strong woman at his side this time, who likes to take the lead, but is also convinced of his abilities and, according to the dancer, believes in him at a time when no one else does. How the two lost souls and their strong characters get at each other’s hair and yet get closer again and again creates a certain tension in the film. Otherwise, it remains rather unexcited in terms of action. Maxandra’s difficult relationship with her daughter or her broken marriage are not examined in depth.

But “Magic Mike” fans probably don’t bring a high demand on the plot to the cinema chair anyway. The optical advantages of the films have always been in the foreground – and they are more varied in the third part than in the predecessor. The hot dances sometimes drip less with stripper clichés and bare facts and are brought to the stage in a theater ambience in an athletic and sophisticated way. This time, the dancing potpourri also includes elements from hip hop, contemporary and salsa, and thus Tatum can also contribute his dancing skills, which he has already demonstrated in classical dance films. The “Magic Mike” circle closes in the third part insofar as “Magic Mike Live” dancers form Mike’s new muscular troupe. Tatum had brought the live production of the film series to the stages in Las Vegas, Berlin or London, appropriately the main location of the film.

The female lead, a woman who knows what she wants and who has been successfully cast with Hayek, offers a new aspect that is not just romantic. The fact that women decide where to go this time is not only evident off the stage, but also on stage, with Juliette Motamed lovingly setting the tone as Hannah on the show.

Conclusion

In the third and last announced part of the “Magic Mike” series, die-hard fans of the films will not be disappointed. Once again, a shallow, but thoroughly entertaining work with plenty of six-packs and a little more depth as part two has succeeded. The varied dance performances in the old-fashioned theater and the harmonious duo Tatum/Hayek make a visit to the cinema worthwhile.

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