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Jim Milton
Picking up the story three years after Mike bowed out of the stripper life at the top of his game, "Magic Mike XXL" finds the remaining Kings of Tampa likewise ready to throw in the towel. But they want to do it their way: burning down the house in one last blow-out performance in Myrtle Beach, and with legendary headliner Magic Mike sharing the spotlight with them.
Format: DTS MA 5.1, 2.4:1 aspect ratio, Rated R, 1 hour 55min
Actors: Channing Tatum, Matt Bomer, Joe Manganiello, Kevin Nash, Adam Rodriguez
Directors: Gregory Jacobs
Rating
This is one for the ladies, as I found it tough to sit through. Basically, it’s a road trip movie with male strippers. Having…um… “missed” the first movie, I did not understand all of the personal relationships that were taking place. Apparently one of the original guys did not reprise his role here, and he was referenced every so often. Not that it mattered. This isn’t exactly a plot driven flick. Anyway, the boys get together one last time to compete in some national “strip off”, and though the dance numbers were a bit few and far between, they were XXLong and exhausting. I will admit though, Tatum has got some serious moves.
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The characters are a bit thin and the hedonistic nature of the film highlights the self centered nature of our culture. A poignant scene does occur when, as they are getting ready for a night of drunken debauchery with some ladies, one of the men reflects that he would gladly give up his lifestyle if he could come home to a wife and kids every night. (Way to suck the life out of the party, dude!) Mostly though, the film has several humorous moments and doesn’t take itself too seriously. I felt the movie could have cut out 20 minutes and no one would have been the wiser. The most shocking scene in the movie was realizing that the guy gyrating his hips onto a corpulent female was none other than Michael Strahan. Now THAT made me do a double take!
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Overall, the colors were good (flesh tones were spot on) but the night scenes were abuzz with mosquito noise and grainy shadows. The rest of the film looked oddly out of focus around the edges, especially the top of the picture, while the middle stayed sharp. I kept adjusting my glasses during the movie, as the soft focus effect bothered me. Artistic choice? Probably. The dialog is clear and the music very punchy and dynamic. The sub and your surrounds will boogie down!
Besides a digital copy and DVD you get 2 featurrettes: “The Moves of Magic Mike XXL” & the extended Malik Dance Scene.