Magic Mike XXL (2015)

26 Mar 2023

Rating: 3/5

Starts off with enough plot to satisfy the folks who liked the last movie, and just enough unnecessary conflict to ensure things don’t go perfectly smooth. By abandoning the lessons of the last movie — namely, that stripping is a dead-end street that he needed to get out of — the stakes are non-existent, so besides the petty interpersonal shit, they just hang dude

This is a movie that celebrates the dancing and views it not as a dead end, but a way out of the sad rut of existence

From a script and filmmaking perspective, this movie is worse in every category than its predecessor. But what helps it out is that it’s comparably more enjoyable to watch

Of course the highlight of the movie is the striptease to “I Want It That Way” in the glass station. Second place is Tatum’s striptease at Jada Pinkett Smith’s club — I mean, he could’ve given that girl a concussion, but it’s impressive

The third act is all of the dancing you could ask for, the finale is that they finish. And then they play “All I Do Is Win” by DJ Khaled. How could I not get pumped up and have fun?

Stray Thoughts


See Review on Letterboxd