Thankfully I listened to the lacklustre reviews and skipped seeing Magic Mike XXL in the theatres. I did however waste a bit one evening watching about three quarters of it before turning it off. It shocks me there were some reviewers who wrote they enjoyed it more than the original... I found the movie almost a bt mean spirited to it's audience. It was as if Channing Tatum was channelling Lucy, grabbing that football before Charlie Brown (the veiwers) could get a good kick (view) in.
Except for a couple of scenes with Joe Manganiello (the scene in the store, being the hottest) there was very little heat. If this were the first movie, it would be fine to set a tone of little to no nudity. But.. the first movie was full of skin, almost every major character showed their bodies in solo strips that were both creative and fun. The strips in this movie were neither fun, nor sexy. This flick seemed like a quick way for the guys to get together, have some fun and make a lot more money. Sequels are supposed to expand on what viewers loved in the first movie, bigger, this movie manipulated what so many loved about the first film for a buck. No one showed full frontal in the first one, yet it was loved, in this movie, a film focused on male stripping, there was less skin than average episode of an HBO series. Thumbs way way down, not for the story or movie itself, but for the studio, actors and producers taking advantage of all those who made them millions on the first.
