Overview: In “Magic Mike’s Last Dance,” “Magic” Mike Lane (Tatum) takes to the stage again after a lengthy hiatus, following a business deal that went bust, leaving him broke and taking bartender gigs in Florida.

For what he hopes will be one last hurrah, Mike heads to London with a wealthy socialite (Hayek) who lures him with an offer he can’t refuse…and an agenda all her own. With everything on the line, once Mike discovers what she truly has in mind, will he — and the roster of hot new dancers he’ll have to whip into shape — be able to pull it off?

Blu-ray Verdict: Interestingly enough, “Magic Mike’s Last Dance” is the third film in the Magic Mike film series and is directed by Steven Soderbergh, who also directed the first Magic Mike film from 2012.

“Magic” Mike Lane can’t stop bumping and grinding! He’s the male stripper version of a bank robber or cowboy who swears he’s retired, but gets lured back into action for one last job. “Magic Mike’s Last Dance,” the third film starring Channing Tatum as a bighearted, iron-thewed Florida stripper, knows that we know that Mike doesn’t feel truly fulfilled unless he’s dancing.

To its credit, Steven Soderbergh’s new movie gets the whole I’m done, don’t ask me to dance ritual out of the way in less than ten minutes. A brief prologue establishes that Mike lost his furniture business during the pandemic and works as a bartender at catered events in Miami.

That’s where he meets Max (Salma Hayek-Pinault), the estranged and wants-to-be-divorced wife of a London one-percenter. Max offers Mike an exorbitant sum for one last dance. After a brief pantomime of refusal, he agrees, and it’s such a mind-blowing experience for Max (the sex afterward is great too) that she invites him to come with her to London and create and choreograph a stage production that will bring the Magic Mike experience to the West End.

You know, the kind of thing that happens all the time! The rest of the movie is a backstage drama about Mike and Max learning how to be a couple as they collaborate on the show and try to stop it from getting shut down by Max’s husband for violating historic district architectural codes, etc.

It’s all just a series of perfunctory roadblocks placed between Max and Mike’s inevitable and well-deserved happy endings as lovers and artistic collaborators. Most of all, “Magic Mike’s Last Dance” is about fit, graceful bodies moving through space, whether the performers are dance-miming sex that would get the film an NC-17 rating if the actors weren’t clothed, or performing a sort-of Bob Fosse-meets-“Singin’ in the Rain” routine onstage, or just walking and talking around London while coping with anxieties that will smother happiness if not held in check!

While the movie does have some on-point choreography featuring neat and decent dance moves from the dancers in their dance sequences, those weren’t enough to make this third, and final outing Oscar material. For, and to my mind, “Magic Mike’s Last Dance” falls short on a few levels, but then again, it never sets out to be anything else than just an enjoyable 90 minutes of viewing pleasure.

In closing, and whilst it comes across more cynical that the first two films, Hayek and Tatum do exhibit some adequate chemistry to make this film work, and on a lighter note, the cinematography and art design are both striking and noteworthy also.

DIGITAL, BLU-RAY & DVD ELEMENTS:
“Magic Mike’s Last Dance” Premium Digital Ownership contains the following special features:
1. Magic Mike’s New Moves
2. Deleted Scene

“Magic Mike’s Last Dance” Blu-ray contains the following special features:
3. Magic Mike’s New Moves
4. Deleted Scene

Embark on Magic Mike’s last hurrah, featuring Channing Tatum reprising his role as Mike Lane when “Magic Mike’s Last Dance” arrives for Premium Digital Ownership at home on February 28th, 2023.

The film is directed by Steven Soderbergh from a script by Reid Carolin, with help from Soderbergh’s creative team behind the scenes includes production designer Pat Campbell (TV’s “The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself”), costume designer Christopher Peterson (“The Irishman”) and music supervisor Season Kent (“KIMI,” “Let Them All Talk”), with choreography by Alison Faulk and Luke Broadlick, both part of the “Magic Mike” franchise, starring “Magic” Mike Lane (Tatum). The film also stars Salma Hayek Pinault (“House of Gucci,” “Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard”), along with dancers from the “Magic Mike Live” shows in London and Las Vegas. The film will be available on Blu-ray and DVD beginning on April 18th, 2023.

The film also stars Ayub Khan Din (TV’s “Ackley Bridge”), newcomer Jemelia George, Juliette Motamed (TV’s “We Are Lady Parts”) and Vicki Pepperdine (“Johnny English Strikes Again”). The film was produced by Nick Wechsler, Gregory Jacobs, Tatum, Carolin and Peter Kiernan with Julie M. Anderson executive producing.

The film was recently released in limited theaters as a special opportunity for fans and they came out in numbers to experience this final film.

1. On February 28th, 2023, “Magic Mike’s Last Dance” will be available for early Premium Digital Ownership at home for $24.99 and for 48-hour rental via PVOD for $19.99 SRP on participating digital platforms where you purchase movies.

2. On April 18th, 2023, “Magic Mike’s Last Dance” will be available on Blu-ray and DVD. “Magic Mike’s Last Dance” will also continue to be available to own in high definition and standard definition from participating digital retailers.

“Magic Mike’s Last Dance” can be enjoyed at home with Filmmaker Mode TM. Developed by studios, TV manufacturers and some of Hollywood’s leading directors, Filmmaker Mode disables all post processing (e.g. motion smoothing), preserves the correct aspect ratios, colors and frame rates, and enables your TV to display the film precisely as it was intended by the filmmaker. Filmmaker Mode is available on televisions from select manufacturers.

“Magic Mike’s Last Dance” will also be available on Movies Anywhere. Using the free Movies Anywhere app and website, consumers can access all their eligible movies by connecting their Movies Anywhere account with their participating digital retailer accounts.

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