Magic Mike makes moves to grow up in less rowdy ‘ Dance’

The third and final “Magic Mike” marries some of the old bump and grind with a new “Let’s put on a show!” mindset.

Those who adore Channing Tatum’s abs still have plenty to enjoy with “Magic Mike’s Last Dance” ( ★★g☆; rated R; in theaters), director Steven Soderbergh’s musical dramedy and trilogy closer. But here’s something fans of the first two films’ more raucous, stripper- ific sequences may not want to hear: Tamer and what one could arguably call classier, this movie trades bromantic machismo and beefcake high jinks for female empowerment and character maturity, though still boasting hunky dudes and clothes being ripped off.

While 2012’ s first “Magic Mike” centered on dancer Mike Lane ( Tatum) training a rookie in his exotic world and 2015’ s “Magic Mike XXL” followed Mike and his buds on a crazy road trip, the third movie has our hero at a crossroads.

After COVID- 19 sinks his custom furniture business – his dream – Mike is bartending a fancy- pants fundraiser when a woman from his past introduces him to an important one in his present. Wealthy socialite Max Mendoza ( Salma Hayek) needs an escape from the flaming mess of her marriage, and she talks Mike into coming out of lap- dance retirement for a life- altering feat of sensuality, blindfolds and sturdy cabinetry.

Tatum’s hero takes the British theater world by storm

A romance sparks and Max takes Mike to London for quite the job: She names him the new director of “Isabela Ascendant,” a popular but misogynistic play at the historic theater she owns ( thanks to her cheating husband). She wants him to modernize it so the main female character doesn’t have to choose between independence and love – while also being surrounded by nontoxic masculinity – so they enlist a variety of male dancers for the show.

Naturally, pesky obstacles pop up, both with Max and Mike’s budding relationship and also on the way to putting the revamped show on stage. ( Stuffy Brits don’t like change!)

The starry main romance and new dudes leave us wanting

Aside from their hot and bothered first meeting, the dynamic between the two lead characters never quite gels. Instead, the most interesting stuff happens at the theater where our hero is faced with the daunting task of whipping a bunch of new guys into shape. Soderbergh and Tatum, who also produces, have pulled dancers from the “Magic Mike” live show, so the athletic talent is there, though not with the same colorful characterization of Mike’s notorious crew from previous films such as Tarzan ( Kevin Nash) and Big Dick Richie ( Joe Manganiello).

The needed personality comes via supporting characters such as Max’s gruff butler Victor ( Ayub Khan Din) and teen daughter Zadie ( Jemelia George), both of whom bond with Mike, as well as Hannah ( Juliette Motamed of “This Is Lady Parts” fame), an actress from the old “Isabela” who emcees the refresh.

Tatum delivers on a watered- down ‘ Last Dance’ ( in a good way)

The film is packed with callbacks, cameos and all the dancing you’d want in a “Magic Mike,” even if a bit less rambunctious on the whole. There’s a fun “Swan Lake”- themed sequence on board a bus, while Mike and a ballerina ( Kylie Shea) share the real showstopper, an impressively wet, mesmerizing number that’s dazzlingly artistic and dead sexy – and a nice bookend with the opening lap dance.

Tatum is the best asset of these films, bringing a strong sense of comic timing, moves that would severely injure a normal man and a necessary groundedness. Everybody grows up – even Magic Mike – but it doesn’t mean we have to give up being ourselves along the way.