I won’t miss “Magic Mike’s Last Dance,” which I’m set to watch at a morning press screening tomorrow. I’m a Steven Soderbergh fan (and completist) but these early reviews are concerning.
‘Last Dance’ currently has a 42% on Rotten Tomatoes. I can’t remember the last time Soderbergh had a film that was this ill-reviewed. He hasn’t had many in his impressive career.
You’d probably have to go back to 2006’s “The Good German” to find a Soderbergh joint that didn’t sit well with critics. That black and white exercise in style, starring George Clooney and Cate Blanchett, was 34% rotten.
It does look as though “Magic Mike’s Last Dance” will join ‘Good German,’ “Kafka,” “Full Frontal” and “Ocean’s Twelve” as the nadirs of Soderbergh’s career.
Soderbergh has been an incredibly reliable filmmaker ever since his 1989 Palme d’Or winning debut, “Sex, Lies and Videotape.” There are too many top-tier movies to list, but the prime among them include “Traffic,” “The Limey,” “Out of Sight,” “Erin Brockovich,” “The Informant,” “Behind the Candelabra,” and “Logan’s Lucky.”
The prolific 59-year-old director has moved between psychological thriller, to drama, to comedy, albeit never allowing the films to lose that distinct Soderbergh-ian touch. He retired in early 2013, clarifying that he had a five-year plan that saw him transitioning away from making feature films when he reached his 50th birthday.
And yet, here we are at the start of a new decade, and, so much for retirement. Soderbergh has released 8 movies in the last 6 years, including last year’s excellent “KIMI.”
Soderbergh is a master of the mise-en-scène; without knowing he was behind the camera, you can easily spot one of his movies. He’ll easily bounce back from this one.
Of course, we all know the rule: take these reactions with a grain of salt rather than treating them as gospel. Still, I will say that the film tested like gangbusters earlier this year, and Lionsgate clearly has confidence.