The career of actor Channing Tatum is a lesson in agility and endurance. He first appeared in 2005’s Coach Carter, but it wouldn’t be until 2006’s Step Up when he would capture audiences’ attention. Since then, Tatum has bounced from dramas (Havoc (2005)), action films (G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009)), and comedies (21 Jump Street (2012)), either as lead, supporting, or in a scene-stealing cameo (This Is the End (2013)). His versatility isn’t just as an actor, but as a person, someone who’s lived many lives and many careers before his success on-screen. Borrowing from his experiences as an exotic dancer, roofer, and more, comes writer Reid Carolin (Dog) and director Steven Soderbergh’s (Ocean’s Trilogy) 2012 dramedy Magic Mike, a film which places Tatum in the dead center of a pelvis-thrusting, oily, muscular storm that would go on to be the first of three films in a series, the last of which released in 2023. Now, Warner Bros. Pictures Home Entertainment releases the original tale, Magic Mike, on 4K UHD for the first-time; an edition that includes both HDR and brand-new color grading.
By day, Mike Lane (Tatum) works as a roofer, develops one of his personally-designed furniture projects, or otherwise is hustling to raise the cash for his own storefront. By night, Mike transforms into “Magic Mike,” exotic dancer alongside Dallas (Matthew McConaughey), Ken (Matt Bomer), Big Dick Ritchie (Joe Manganiello), Tito (Adam Rodriguez), and Tarzan (Kevin Nash) as the Cock-rocking Kings of Tampa. One night, Mike bumps into Adam (Alex Pettyfer) and helps him get into a club with the promise that Adam will help him in return. That favor is to assist on props at that night’s show and it ends up creating an opportunity for Adam to rebrand himself as “The Kid” on stage. What starts as a lucrative opportunity for both also possesses the potential to turn sour when avarice of all sorts gets in the way of having a good time.
With the film being roughly 12 years old, let’s start with the information you really want to know: is the 4K UHD edition worth the extra coin? That depends on a number of factors that we’ll dive into. First and foremost, if you’ve seen anything about a multi-format release package, that is incorrect. The only thing that comes with this edition is the 4K UHD disc. No Blu-ray or digital included. Second, this on-disc presentation is incredibly sparse with the menu providing access to the movie, subtitles (English only), and a single bonus feature. There is no language option, so if you need this in any other language than English, you may need to consider a different edition.
Next, and fairly importantly, is the on-disc presentation of the film itself. While this 4K UHD edition made for a first-time watch, in preparation for doing a comparison, I tracked down a DVD edition of the film, and there’re far more differences in the visual presentation than simply greater detail due to increased data provided by the 4K UHD disc over the DVD or increased depth of color provided by HDR, represented here by HDR10. There’s a sense here that colors were retreated or touched, mostly noticeable when comparing against the previously released DVD and primarily pertaining to blues, greens, and whites. The DVD edition appears flushed out, with the white staking priority over nearly every scene, whether daytime outside, nighttime inside, or a mix. The best example of this comes close to midway through the film when Mike takes Adam and his sister Brooke (Cody Carolin) out into the ocean for a Fourth of July party with the rest of the dancers and their friends/family. On the DVD, the scene is very bright, the sky a light blue and the sand blown out. On the 4K UHD edition, the sky is more sea green and the sand more brown. For those familiar with meteorology, in the sequence when the hurricane lands, any shots of the outside (through windows) are an appropriate darker green/grey, which is more accurate for that type of weather presentation, whereas the DVD is more light and sunny in presentation. While this provides an overall improved look that conveys a lived-in world, rather than a flat, almost two-tone presentation, when the story shifts to nighttime sequences (inside or out), the increased dynamic range of color does make the blues, purples, and blacks deeper and richer, but it also means that anything in shadows grows more difficult to see. This matters less for those looking forward to revisiting the show sequences as the men look just as desirable as ever and more so in regard to being able to track character facial expressions in conversations, the enhanced darkness making that more difficult to discern.
Speaking of comparisons, the 4K UHD edition only includes a single legacy bonus feature: “Backstage on Magic Mike.” Doing some research on the current Blu-ray, other materials include extended dance sequences and a “Dance Play” mode, neither of which are also included with this edition. As such, if bonus materials are a big deal for you, you may want to also add the Blu-ray to your collection alongside this one. It’s certainly odd that nothing else was added to this new edition considering that 4K UHD discs are capable of holding more data, though this may be an issue of the edition being available as a Manufactured On Demand (MOD) release versus a more mainstream disc.
Another small detail, but worth knowing just so one doesn’t feel bait-switched, the cover art at the bottom of this review doesn’t match what is actually included with the release. The cover art below depicts four of the actors in character in one of their dancer personas standing side-by-side, whereas the actual cover is Mike in front with two on either side behind him, all five of them dressed in the same pant, tie, and no shirt costume. It’s strange that the promo image would be so different, but that’s just how this went down, apparently.
When it comes down to it, this 4K UHD edition is ideal for viewers who are curious about a different-looking experience and aren’t entirely hung up about what may or may not be included. This does, of course, limit the range of individuals who may purchase this, especially when you consider that there’re no language options outside of English and almost nearly-zero bonus materials. Rather than taking this as an opportunity to celebrate the uniqueness that is the Magic Mike film, not even as the start of a three-film series recently wrapped, this edition more feels like an after-thought, intended for major fans looking to complete their Soderbergh collection with 4K UHD editions. With both Contagion (2011) and the Ocean’s Trilogy (2001, 2004, 2007, respectively) re-released this year on 4K UHD and those all including prior legacy special features, that lack of them on Magic Mike honestly feels like a statement from WB Pictures that’s a little unpleasant to consider.
In summation, if you like your films in 4K UHD with HDR and found your version a little flat to look at, this version will enhance the overlook visual style. But that’s about all you get with this. So make your choice very carefully.
Magic Mike Legacy Special Feature:
- Backstage on Magic Mike
Available on 4K UHD Blu-ray May 14th, 2024.
For more information, head to the official Warner Bros. Pictures Magic Mike webpage.
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Categories: Home Release, Recommendation
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