Magic Mike XXL

Magic Mike XXL [2015] is the sequel to Magic Mike [2012].  Three years after Mike (Channing Tatum) bowed out of the stripper life at the top of his game, he and the remaining Kings of Tampa hit the road to Myrtle Beach to put on one last blowout performance.  Gregory Jacobs fills Steven Soderbergh’s directorial shoes, with the latter taking over cinematography and editing duties.

The “bigger”, the better.  Credit to the filmmakers for not making the same film twice.  Instead of a drama, we get a road-trip movie.  No Matthew McConaughey, Alex Pettyfer, or Cody Horn.  Now we get Jada Pinkett Smith, Elizabeth Banks, and Donald Glover.  Okay, Pinkett Smith is pretty good.  And I’m always happy to see the Childish Gambino.  But there’s no dramatic push.  The pacing is weak and halfway through the movie, it’s clear there was no story left to tell.

“Stripped” of  “Magic”.  I’m one of the few heterosexual males that admits to liking Magic Mike [2012].  It wasn’t a movie about male stripping, but actually a drama about male strippers.  This is about male stripping all the way through.  And to be fair, the stripping scenes are nicely shot with complex choreography. If you thought the first film was too much talking and not enough stripping, then step right up.  There’s some nice eye candy for the people who want to see all those abs and muscles.  Just don’t expect anything with substance.

I got nothing.  And the puns stop here.  It’s hard to review this film because it wasn’t made for me.   I’m not aching to see Channing Tatum or Matt Bomer strip down to a thong.  This is the “Girls Night!” people expected from the first film, but didn’t get.  And if that’s what you want, then go for it.  You’ll probably like it more the second time around.  It doesn’t offer what the first movie had, but then again, it’s a completely different movie.

Meh.  Not bad, but not good either. 
It is what it is.