Magic Mike XXL

The scene from the gas station was the only funny scene in the whole film. Even I appreciated it and had a good laugh. The rest of the film is an unbelievable monstrosity which shows exactly that kind of pop culture I hate. And if anybody wants to get upset about why I watched it at all then I would like to point out that I watched it by chance and basically by mistake. I was wondering if the film got any better than the first instalment but it didn’t. My impression is that the creators tried hard to come up with something new but they failed. (12.06.2017)

All that's left of the social drama is a highly stylized attraction that, while it has a few deaf spots in the middle, entertains quite well with engaging characters and many amusing moments. Visually, it's not as interesting and polished as the first one – Steven Soderbergh probably doesn't try as hard behind the camera and in the editing room when he's not directing himself – but as a popcorn movie it's OK. Thumbs up for the fact that the filmmakers went to the trouble of portraying the supporting characters better, which at times is considerably deeper than in a regular consumer comedy. (09.02.2023)

While Soderbergh tries to be more dramatic in Magic Mike, his sequel with the lewd subtitle XXL has already fully embarked on the path of an undemanding summer comedy. Worth noting is that he admittedly focused the film primarily on women, but the intention of the creators was probably to appeal to both sexes - it's basically a man’s road-movie about macho men who act like tough guys and make jokes that are ironically intended more for men. Meanwhile, women can enjoy the stripper performances, of which there are much more than in the first one, and they also have better choreography. The plot, on the other hand, is downright horrible and the dialogues appalling, with the attempt to imprint some more serious psychology or personal problems on the main protagonists, it completely misses the mark, because it is a banality through which the authors try to disguise that the aim of the film is to show the muscles and partial nudity of the main protagonists. (22.11.2015)

Well, not really. Two hours is too much for this thing, especially when we are still waiting for the final performance, which is - I must admit - truly the highlight, it is entertaining and as a guy, I enjoyed it. Excellent choreography and above all, great dancers. However, I didn't have the feeling that this film has the depth it wants to present. As a road movie, it was truly boring. (06.09.2015)