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WARNER

MOVIE INFO

Director:
Steven Soderbergh
Cast:
Channing Tatum, Matthew McConaughey, Alex Pettyfer
Writing Credits:
Reid Carolin

Synopsis:
A male stripper teaches a younger performer how to party, pick up women, and make easy money

Box Office:
Budget:
$7 million.
Opening Weekend:
$39,127,170 on 2930 Screens.
Domestic Gross:
$113,781,613.

MPAA:
Rated R.

DISC DETAILS
Presentation:
Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
Audio:
English DTS-HD MA 5.1
Subtitles:
English
Closed-captioned
Supplements Subtitles:
None

Runtime: 110 min.
Price: $27.99
Release Date: 5/14/2024

Bonus:
• “Backstage on Magic Mike” Featurette


PURCHASE @ AMAZON.COM

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RELATED REVIEWS


Magic Mike [4K UHD] (2012)

Reviewed by Colin Jacobson (May 12, 2024)

Nearly 25 years into his directorial career, Steven Soderbergh continued to confound expectations with his cinematic choices. Today’s example: 2012’s Magic Mike, a drama about the world of male strippers.

Set in Tampa, we meet Mike (Channing Tatum), a true jack-of-all-trades. He runs his own mobile detailing business, creates unique furniture to sell, works construction – and spends nights at a local club as exotic dancer “Magic Mike”.

At a building site, Mike meets Adam (Alex Pettyfer), an unmotivated slacker content to sleep on his sister Brooke’s (Cody Horn) couch and work odd jobs. On a night out, Adan bumps into Mike and finds out about the latter’s evening job.

Confronted with the prospect of easy money and endless tail, Alex agrees to join the gang as their newest stripper. We follow their growing friendship and the way their lives evolve as Adam embraces the nightlife and Mike starts to think he needs something more from his existence.

I ended up at a theatrical screening of Magic over its summer release, which occurred completely due to the Soderbergh Factor. I respected the director enough that I gave his work a look even when I didn’t find myself particularly interested in the subject matter.

Mike hinted that might’ve needed to stop. Actually, Soderbergh’s last two films pre-Magic - 2011’s Contagion and early 2012’s Haywire - looked intriguing regardless of Soderbergh’s involvement, even if his presence simply added a touch of prestige. Unfortunately, neither movie did much for me.

Despite the fact it came with the topic that appeals least to me, Magic probably works the best of these three flicks, though that’s semi-faint praise, as I don’t think highly of the picture. It’s not a bad flick, but it consistently seems ordinary and unremarkable.

The main problem emanates from the lackluster narrative and simplistic characters. Based loosely on Tatum’s own experiences, we don’t get a great sense of honesty or verisimilitude here.

Instead, we find a predictable tale of a guy who needs to grow up and take charge of his life. That doesn’t become anything we’ve not seen 1000 times already.

Soderbergh brings more style to the film than most others would, but he doesn’t do enough to elevate the pedestrian material. Essentially Magic often feels like a series of stripper scenes with a movie built around them.

That clearly turned into the flick’s selling point – it didn’t attract throngs of women because they cared about character development – but the nightclub sequences make the film drag. They feel pretty non-essential, as they do little to nothing to advance the characters or situations.

I think we could live with a taste of them but not as much as we get. The stripping shots fill nearly 20 minutes of screen time.

I suppose one could make similar claims about the dance scenes in Saturday Night Fever. However, I think those tell us something about the characters, and some shots help with the story as well.

For instance, we need to see the “climactic” dance contest to understand why Tony felt it was rigged. Without visuals to support the tale, his actions wouldn’t make much sense.

Nothing similar occurs in Magic. In this film, the stripping scenes feel like they’re there for basic titillation.

I suspect that’s the case. Like I said, the movie made lots of money due to its appeal as a “Girls Night Out”.

But that doesn’t mean they succeed in cinematic terms, and the meandering narrative doesn’t help. Though it mostly focuses on Mike, the film branches off to Adam’s story enough that it loses its way.

Indeed, after a while, you start to think Adam will become the main character. However, as the film goes, he becomes less and less essential to the point where he feels like little more than a plot device.

And a jerky one at that. While we might expect Magic to give us some growth/improvement in Adam via the standard “coming of age” story, instead the opposite occurs.

Adam goes down the nightlife rabbit hole and never gains redemption, so by the film’s end, we dislike him and view him as wholly irresponsible and selfish. Perhaps this happens to make Mike more endearing as a contrast, but it still seems like a bad choice.

As for the actors, they seem generally fine, though I prefer Tatum in comedy. He does great in light fare but appears ess impressive when placed in dramatic territory.

Perhaps that’s why Magic works best in its first act when it gives us a perkier take on its subject/characters. Once the movie goes darker, it falters.

Ultimately, Magic Mike never goes off the rails enough to qualify as a bad film, but it doesn’t come together in a way that makes it satisfying. With a meandering story, dull characters and a general lack of focus, it’s not an especially entertaining ride.


The Disc Grades: Picture B+/ Audio B/ Bonus D

Magic Mike appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.40:1 on this 4K IJHD Disc. Even with Steven Soderbergh’s typically stylized visual choices, this native 4K image worked well.

Sharpness could feel slightly iffy at times, but those instances clearly reflected Soderbergh’s cinematographic decisions. Delineation usually looked terrific so most of the movie offered appealing accuracy.

I saw no signs of jagged edges or moiré effects, and the movie lacked edge haloes. Shot digitally, the presentation also showed no source defects.

Like many Soderbergh flicks, Magic went with a heavily stylized palette. Clubs tended to be purple-tinted, but exteriors went with a yellow/green feel and shots at Brooke’s place opted for an amber hue.

These choices could be distracting and self-conscious, but I couldn’t fault the transfer, as it replicated Soderbergh’s palette well. HDR added emphasis and range to the hues.

Blacks felt deep and dark, while shadows showed nice delineation. Whites and contrast got extra punch from HDR. The 4K replicated the source in fine fashion.

As for the film’s DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack, it felt good but not great. Almost always represented by the elements in nightclubs, the music used the speakers well, and the effects fleshed out the environment in a positive manner.

Material tended toward the environmental side of the street, but scenes in clubs, on the beach and at a construction site offered involvement. These featured the back speakers in a satisfying way and added pep to the package.

Audio quality was always fine. Music sounded warm and full, while effects were clear and accurate.

When necessary, the track featured tight low-end response. Speech sounded natural and distinctive. Given the movie’s character focus, this wasn’t a killer track, but it did enough for a “B”.

How did the 4K UHD compare to the 2012 Blu-ray version? Both came with identical audio.

The native 4K film got a nice boost in terms of sharpness, colors and blacks on this UHD disc, however. Expect a good jump in picture quality from this release.

Despite the movie’s financial success, only one extra appears here. Backstage on Magic Mike runs six minutes, 56 seconds and includes notes from actor/writer/producer Reid Carolin, actor/producer Channing Tatum, choreographer Alison Faulk, costume designer Christopher Peterson, production designer Howard Cummings, and actors Matthew McConaughey, Adam Rodriguez, Alex Pettyfer, Joe Manganiello, Matt Bomer, Cody Horn, and Olivia Munn.

“Backstage” covers the project’s roots and development, dancing and choreographer, cast and performances, costumes, and a few other areas. “Backstage” is brief and superficial, but it adds a smattering of interesting observations.

The 4K drops two extras from the Blu-ray: “Extended Dance Scenes” and “Dance Play Mode”, a feature that allows viewers to simply focus on the beefcake stripper moments.

Sold as a “Girls Night Out” romp, Magic Mike might satisfy ladies who want to watch beefcake under the pretense of a “serious movie”. Unfortunately, with flat characters and an uninvolving plot, it becomes a mediocre flick. The 4K UHD comes with solid picture and appropriate audio but it lacks substantial supplements. This becomes a quality release for an average movie.

To rate this film visit original review of MAGIC MIKE

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