Magic Mike XXL Movie Review

Channing Tatum takes the stage for another striptease session

In 2012, Channing Tatum starred in the first Magic Mike film. Three years later the sequel: Magic Mike XXL. Most of the original cast appears in this film. Tatum (Magic Mike), Joe Manganiello (Big Dick Richie), Matt Bomer (Ken), Kevin Nash (Tarzan), and Adam Rodriguez (Tito). There is a surprise appearance from Michael Strahan, Jada Pinkett Smith and Elizabeth Banks. However, in Magic Mike XXL there is no Matthew McConaughey (Dallas) or Alex Pettyfer (The Kid).

The sequel had several let downs throughout the film. To start off Mike finally had the business he wanted from first film and he was doing alright for himself, but then the “guys” call him up and persuade him to come on a road trip instead. But that isn’t the problem; it’s the way the business just seems to disappear from the film completely. Big Dick Richie threw Mike’s phone out of the vehicle and then poof Mike’s future business was no longer in the movie or even mentioned.

The next let down was the lack of dancing throughout the film. There was a lot of down time, and would have been nice to see more dancing from the cast. It felt like the first Magic Mike had more dance scenes.

One last downer would have to be the scene with the older woman with the wine. It was completely pointless. I am not against older women finding their sexuality by any means, however it just didn’t seem to fit in the film. It felt out of place, like a last minute throw in because they needed some cougar action.

Magic Mike XXL wasn’t all bad though. The best scene by far would have to be the end dance scene. Each cast member had a performance tailored to their character’s personality. They performed their character’s personality exactly and it was perfection. I couldn’t have enjoyed the ending anymore unless I was there at the stripper convention myself.

Another excellent scene that needs to be highlighted was the pit stop. Poor Big Dick Richie and his fear of fire. Nobody would have expected to see a man of his height and stature perform the striptease with Cheetos and water as he did for a lucky convenient store cashier. It was hilarious watching the cast outside rooting him on every step of the way.

The film was basically a male-bonding road trip to a stripper convention with several pit stops along the way. With that being said, I think the next dance film Tatum should perform in he should leave his clothes on because he’s an amazing dancer and has no need to strip.

STARRING: Channing Tatum, Joe Manganiello, Matt Bomer
DIRECTOR: Gregory Jacobs
WRITER: Reid Carolin
PRODUCTION: Iron Horse Entertainment

GENRE: Comedy

RATED: R
OVERALL RATING: 4 stars out of 5 stars