Magic Mike Franchise (2012 - 2023)

Magic Mike:

The selling point of the movie is obviously the sex appeal of some very fit big-name actors. At its core, it is honestly a solid movie about being an entrepreneur and the struggles that come along with it. Whether your business is done legally or not, there will always be hurdles. And of course, when drugs are involved, things get messy fast. The chemistry between the stars is impeccable and it tells a genuine, borderline gritty story of that Cali lifestyle when you have the grandest of ambitions. The drama and lack of score during the dramatic scenes are expertly contrasted with the fun, upbeat stripper show scenes. It’s like Game of Thrones. Come for the eye candy, stay for the actually compelling story. It’s worth a watch, but make sure you watch it with people you are comfortable with. There is male stripping after all.

Story - 17%

Characters - 18%

Pacing - 15%

Spectacle - 18%

Entertainment - 16%

Total score: 84%

Magic Mike XXL:

How do you make a sequel to a movie about strippers and the breakdown of life drama? You make it a road trip movie obviously. There were still plenty of drama moments, but it was about the group’s last hurrah before they all became boring adults…despite already being in mid 30s and older. There were plenty of eye-candy scenes. Joe Mangenello’s character at the convenience store was the best on the trip obviously. There were lots of cool cameos and the finale dance-off was well worth the build-up throughout the movie. Like the first movie, come for the eye candy dances, and stay for the characters and drama. This movie is very on par with its predecessor.

Story - 17%

Characters - 16%

Pacing - 14%

Spectacle - 20%

Entertainment - 16%

Total score: 83%

Magic Mike's Last Dance:

This movie had me thinking of something I never thought I would think about the trilogy as a whole. So scale-wise, this had the natural progression of a city movie to a road trip movie to an international movie. But storywise, this would make more sense as the second movie. The arc could have been all the stuff that happened in the first movie. Then, he steps away and keeps working odd jobs until he is discovered by Selma Hayek. She offers him a gig to spruce up a live show. It’s successful and all is good. Then everything is back to basics after a falling out but he managed to start a business. The old crew begs him to go on a trip and do one last show before the whole crew truly gives up the dancer's life. The road trip can be a memory lane trip and it ends on the epic finale. Instead, we get this awkward almost midlife crisis movie. As a whole it is enjoyable but it felt more rom-com than the drama that it started out as. It’s not a bad movie, but it doesn’t really give much reason for existing in the franchise. It has some callbacks, but other than that, this could have straight up been its own independent movie. It could have passed as a soft reboot. Honestly, only see it if you like the franchise or Channing Tatum/Selma Hayek.

Story - 15%

Characters - 15%

Pacing - 18%

Spectacle - 18%

Entertainment - 16%

Total score: 82%