‘Magic Mike’s Last Dance’ Review: A Sweet and Sexy Sendoff

Just in time for Valentine’s Day comes the third installment of the Magic Mike film franchise, Magic Mike's Last Dance. Unlike the previous films, this one's a musical -- but with a sexy twist.

Channing Tatum, AKA "Magic" Mike Lane, hits the stage for the final time with the sexy socialite, Maxandra Mendoza (Salma Hayek Pinault). Though the movie starts out in Florida after his business fails, Mike takes a trip over the pond to rainy London after showing Max his killer moves -- which she pays for. At the first glimpse of his abs, the entire packed theater was squealing in glee. After all, it's been eight whole years since we've seen Tatum tastefully strip for us.

Max's plans to revamp her historic theater, The Rattigan, involve hiring Mike as her "visionary artist." Though we don't see dancing from any of our favorite fellow strippers from Magic Mike XXL -- Joe Manganiello, Matt Bomer, Adam Rodriguez and Kevin Nash -- they do make a pixelated cameo via a hilarious video chat with Mike. Mike and Max hold auditions for the next batch of sexy strippers to hit the stage, even taking to the streets and flying out long-haired Italian men to join the troupe.

Though Last Dance is loose and light-hearted enough to entertain, it's hard to compare to the excitement and bare man-butt of the previous two movies. When we finally see all of Mike and Max's hard work come to fruition on opening night, the entire audience (in the film and in the theater) was applauding and hooting.

It wasn't until Tatum himself takes the rainy stage to splash and writhe with the last-minute ballet dancer, Kylie Shea, that we feel the heat we've been yearning for. Director Steven Soderbergh recently revealed that “there’s not even a thong" in the movie, and it was definitely missed. However, the mostly-clothed strippers ripped their shirts off often enough. Soderbergh still achieved sexiness through the choreography and camera work. As the director put it, "intimacy and genuine emotion" is what's really sexy.

As a romance, Mike and Max's love story didn't feel strong enough given the short amount of time they were together in the month-long time span of the film. Tatum and Hayek had great chemistry and we wish the film captured that more. As we previously reported, Hayek said of her character, “It’s the strongest love story, the strongest female character, from beginning to end. How lucky am I?” Tears were shed, laughs were had and we were entertained from start to finish.

With that being said, we'll let you decide how this third installment holds up in the franchise. All in all, it's worth a watch to see how Mike Lane gracefully -- and sexily -- retires from the stripping business.

Watch Magic Mike's Last Dance in Dolby Cinema on Friday, Feb. 10:

Channing Tatum announced on Twitter yesterday (November 29) that Mike Lane will be back in the forthcoming Magic Mike 3.

"Well world, looks like Mike Lane’s tapping back in," Channing wrote, tagging HBO Max with a photo of the script which reads the film's official title: "Magic Mike's Last Dance. Written by Reid Carolin. Directed by Steven Soderbergh."

"Is there anybody on screen more charismatic and appealing than Magic Mike?" Toby Emmerich, Chairman of Warner Bros. Pictures Group, said in a statement. "We're thrilled to be back in business with Channing, Steven and their creative team to bring back Magic Mike's wonderful combination of dance, drama, romance and humor."

The movie announcement comes just weeks before HBO Max is set to premiere a reality competition series titled Finding Magic Mike. Kicking off Dec. 16, the series follows 10 men who have "lost their magic" but quickly learn new dance routines in hopes of earning a spot on the Magic Mike Live stage in Las Vegas. The first two Magic Mike films were so successful that they helped launch a Vegas stage show, with a national tour coming in 2022.

"There are no words for how excited I am to blow the doors off of the world of Magic Mike with Steven, Greg, Reid, and the amazing people at HBO Max," Channing previously shared. "The stripperverse will never be the same."

The original 2012 Magic Mike film featured Channing as the titular character, a seasoned male stripper who teaches younger performer Adam (Alex Pettyfer) how to make easy money. Magic Mike XXL followed in 2015, grossing nearly $300 million worldwide for the first two films.

Fans celebrated the announcement by sharing who they would like to see dance alongside Tatum, and boy, are they on to something.