MAGIC MIKE XXL For Xtra, Xtra Lame

Magic Mike XXL is the sequel to the hot-bodied film, Magic Mike, starring Channing Tatum and a few others. That film was an instant hit with it's above average story line about a man trying to make a life for himself, while dancing his nights away, entertaining the ladies.

The first film garnered a 6.1 user rating on IMDb, 80% on Rotten Tomatoes, but to be honest, with its mix of dance scenes, story and personal challenges, it was an OK, popcorn fun kind of movie.

If you liked the first film, you will be sorely tested or challenged to enjoy the sequel.

If you've seen or remember the trailer(s) for Magic Mike XXL, well, you've pretty much seen some of the best parts of the film.

The cast includes Channing Tatum, Juan Piedrahita, Joe Manganiello, Kevin Nash, Gabriel Iglesias, Matt Bomer, Adam Rodriguez, Amber Heard, Stephen 'tWitch' Boss, Jada Pinkett Smith, Michael Strahan, Donald Glover, Andie MacDowell, & Elizabeth Banks. (Pinkett Smith replaces Matthew McConaughey as their show leader)

The film starts out watching Mike working at his furniture business, but he's managed to find a reason to join the the guys one last time, for one last gig.

Acts one and two of the film are a very boring tirade of character explanations and self-discovery. They meet up with some old friends and make new friends.

The only dancing that takes place is the scene when Mike is in his garage working on furniture.


After a very long, long, long acts one and two, the guys final get their new show/gig put together and the movie ends with the guys doing their new show, each guy getting their moment in the spotlight and doing one dance each.

And that's it.

The film tries very hard to be more about the story than the obvious.

On IMDb the sequel got a 5.7 user rating and 63% on RT and I think that is kind of high. It was a struggle to get through it and the 2 hr, 10 min film because it felt like 3 hours, easy.

To be honest, if you're more about story than action, you may like the journey the guys take. But it is a story about male strippers trying to find their one last gig and the relationships developed are fairly shallow.

And that's that.

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