Magic Mike’s Last Dance teases at a storyline, then gets bored and does what he’s good at – dancing!

It’s actually better if you’ve never seen the original Magic Mike or even the woeful second installment. Those were both charming, original and crammed full of household names. Yes, you had the dancing but there was also a solid multi character storyline. That’s the problem with Magic Mike’s Last Dance is that all roads lead back to Mike. It’s all about Mike and actually Mike was never the most interesting person in the room, except perhaps when he was dancing.

Magic Mike’s Last Dance begins with Mike (Channing Tatum) bartending for a rich lady Maxandra Mendoza (Salma Hayek) drinks party in Miami. She is tipped off by a friend that Mike is a dancer/stripper and pays him to dance for her. It then leads to her inviting him to London for a month so that he can put on a show and that’s the entire plot.

For continuity between the films, it’s great that Steven Soderbergh stayed to direct the trilogy. He manages to keep a lightness of touch and for the final 20 minutes actually felt as if we, the audience, were transported into the live Magic Mike show. The dancing, cinematography, and direction are all great. Also, the soundtrack as with the previous two films is spot on, and yes, pony – the song- does make an appearance.

The main issue with Magic Mike’s Last Dance is the storyline/ script is paper thin. Actually, a soon to be divorced woman flies a male dancer to London to set up his own show is not enough to sustain a 2 hour film. The other issue is this film was clearly conceived during lockdown so whilst some familiar faces appear: it’s tragically brief and via zoom. For a last dance, Mike and, especially us, the audience deserved more.

Listen, I watched this with a very healthy measure of red wine with friends in the cinema on Tuesday. I wasn’t bored but I couldn’t help feeling nostalgic for the original Magic Mike which had a story. This felt as if it was all about Channing Tatum’s abs and everyone else was to facilitate the showing of them.

If you want a popcorn and wine fest night out with a group of friends then this will tick that box just don’t expect a storyline!

Magic Mike’s Last Dance is released in cinemas across the UK on Friday 10 February.

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