Photo Illustration by Kelly Caminero / The Daily Beast / Reuters / Warner Bros. Pictures
Steven Soderbergh is an Oscar-winning director (for 2000’s Traffic) who’s helmed blockbuster franchises (the Ocean’s Eleven series), pioneering indies (his 1989 debut sex, lies and videotape), and virtually every type of film and TV genre imaginable. Nonetheless, there may be no more thrillingly unique work in his oeuvre than Magic Mike, his 2012 drama about a Tampa, Florida stripper named Mike (Channing Tatum) who tries to parlay his unmatched lap-dancing skills into a legitimate furniture-making career.
A hit that spawned a boisterous sequel (2015’s Magic Mike XXL) that Soderbergh shot and edited but didn’t direct, it was another in a long line of artistically diverse projects for the 60-year-old filmmaker. Thus, it’s with great excitement that Soderbergh and Tatum have reteamed for Magic Mike’s Last Dance, a trilogy capper that once again hits the sensual sweet spot, albeit this time with a surprising degree of poignant romanticism.
Originally set to premiere on HBO Max, Magic Mike’s Last Dance now arrives in theaters on Feb. 10. That’s a fittingly grand venue for this swoon-worthy finale, which concerns Mike’s exploits in the UK with wealthy divorcée Max (Salma Hayek), who—following a steamy rendezvous with the ex-stripper—hires him to transform her London theater’s stuffy period piece into an eroticized celebration of feminist desire and freedom.