Review of Magic Mike (2012) by Eli T — 13 Feb 2013

Soderberg's vapid portrayal of a stripper trying to make something of himself starts off promising - not unlike his other recent efforts, specifically Haywire and Contagion. Unfortunately, Magic Mike - just like Soderberg's other offerings - takes an intriguing premise and runs it into a brick wall.

Channing Tatum makes for the only relatively interesting character, but he struggles when placed alongside dull Alex Pettyfer, who is shunted into the limelight with a laughably underdeveloped personality.

Dragging the cast down even more is obnoxious and one-dimensional Olivia Munn, whose stony features and perpetual PMS effectively render the character whiny, insufferable, and completely unsuitable as a love interest to Tatum.

What's more, the supposed boy-meets-girl "love" story so enthusiastically advertised falls completely flat, shoehorned into the movie in literally the last 15 minutes. But what about the conversations leading up to the dirty deed? Some critics apparently think Soderberg is a master at developing romantic and sexual tension through subtle mood and undeveloped characters.

To me it was simply an exercise in pointless drivel. With multiple subplots so horrifically unactualized they may as well have been left out entirely, Magic Mike dives into the shallows of maturity, romance, and even eccentricity but quickly retreats before reaching the deeper water as if afraid to evoke too much thought.

Is the movie supposed to be fun? Is it supposed to be serious? Mindless? Metaphorical? Ensemble? We never know. What a startlingly poor film from a supposedly talented director.