Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (2018 Film) Review
"Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again," the sequel to the 2008 original, has all the cast members from the first film returning, including but not limited to Amanda Seyfried, Meryl Streep, Dominic Cooper, Christine Baranski, Julie Walters, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, and Stellan Skarsgård. Simultaneously, Lilly James, Jessica Keenan Wynn, Alexa Davies, Jeremy Irvine, Hugh Skinner, and Josh Dylan play the younger versions of Streep, Baranski, Walters, Brosnan, Firth, and Skarsgård's characters respectively.
Phyllida Lloyd, who directed the first film, did not return to direct the sequel. Instead, Ol Parker, whose previous directing credits include "Imagine Me & You" and "Now Is Good," is directing and scripting this sequel. Parker is perhaps best known for writing the script for "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" and its sequel, "The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel." Judy Craymer and Gary Goetzman produce this followup film.
Introduction
Right out of the gate, I'm not a fan of jukebox musicals. I'm even less a fan of Meryl Streep phoning in her performances. For those reasons, along with many others, I did not like the original "Mamma Mia!" I found that it was a jukebox musical featuring autotuned singing, horrendous acting (yet only Pierce Brosnan won a Razzie), and a plot that couldn't have been stretched thinner. On top of that, it was another example of Hollywood taking a subgenre, in this case the chick flick, and resorting it down to a mathematical formula that's meant to please its target demographic regardless if it's awful or not. The target audience for the original fell for it big time as "Mamma Mia!" ended up making $615.7 million worldwide and was the highest-grossing film directed by a woman. Thank goodness for "Wonder Woman" and it taking over the title back in 2017. As you now know, I'm no fan of the first, so does "Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again" suffer the same fate?Overall Thoughts
Thankfully, no, but "Here We Go Again" still shares some of the same flaws of the first. While it ends up being more focused in terms of plot, the musical numbers still get in the way of much plot progression. Every time that I'd get interested in the story presented, a character would break into song and the film would lose track of itself. The story is still a tad on the thin side, but I felt that there was a little more substance since it's not trying to entirely base itself around an ABBA song anymore.
As shown in the trailers, "Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again" revolves around two timelines: the current timeline involving Amanda Seyfried's Sophie Sheridan being pregnant while trying to run the hotel business and showing the history of Meryl Streep's Donna Sheridan, Sophie's mother. The two timelines are carelessly handled. The two transition from one to another with no rhyme or reason as to why they are swapping. This carries on throughout all of the film and while it gets better towards the end, I would have liked the two if they were a bit more streamlined.
The Cast
Firstly, most of the characters in this film lack development. "Here We Go Again" gets caught up with the notion that the gang is all back ten years later and the happiness that the veteran members have does manage to make them charming despite the fact that most of them are a drag on the film.
Amanda Seyfried's Sophie does have some personality that was sorely lacking in the first film. The character's struggles are endearing and Pierce Brosnan, aside from the fact that he's still a terrible singer, is likable watching him do his best to keep her spirits up. Colin Firth and Stellan Skarsgård show up at the end. Once again, the only thing that makes them entertaining is their excitement of being back with the rest of the cast. Dominic Cooper is still the unappealing character that he was in the first. He has no distinct personality to speak of. Unlike other members of this cast, there's little eagerness emanating from Cooper and his performance is proof of that. Christine Baranski and Julie Walters have loads of energy throughout the film. Too bad they spend their time gawking at men and wondering if the one that they currently have their eye on is single.
In terms of story, the film's decides to focus it more on Donna in her youth. "Focused" is probably the wrong word to use because while the film allows its new cast members to shine, it doesn't allow them to establish any character. Despite not looking anything close to Meryl Streep, Lilly James does a great job as a younger Donna. James gives everything into her part and you can feel her excitement of being in this role. Sadly, there's little to her character. Other than being an optimistic, aspiring young woman, I wanted to know more about what drove Donna to do what she was doing. I get it. She wants to make memories and tackle the seemingly hard things in life, but why? Why does she want to stay on the island, especially since she's been there for an incredibly short amount of time? I just had questions as to why Donna chose to do the things that she was wanting to do. She makes random decisions with no reason as to why and I would have liked those questions answered. Judging on what the film gave me, it was difficult to truly form a connection with Donna.
Jeremy Irvine, Hugh Skinner, and Josh Dylan do fine jobs playing young versions of Sam, Harry, and Bill. I won't say that any of them added anything to the established characters, even though the men weren't established much to begin with. The three young actors were more of a means to an end. They had one job - have sex with Donna so Sophie can be born - and once they did, the film seemingly forgets about them one by one. Sam is the one who sticks around with Donna the longest and they manage to form a bond together, but that happens off-screen. We do get to watch them get to know each other, though. It's just that the director decided to turn off the dialogue for most of the scenes in an effort to let the musical score shine, which leads me to the next point of discussion: the soundtrack.
In terms of story, the film's decides to focus it more on Donna in her youth. "Focused" is probably the wrong word to use because while the film allows its new cast members to shine, it doesn't allow them to establish any character. Despite not looking anything close to Meryl Streep, Lilly James does a great job as a younger Donna. James gives everything into her part and you can feel her excitement of being in this role. Sadly, there's little to her character. Other than being an optimistic, aspiring young woman, I wanted to know more about what drove Donna to do what she was doing. I get it. She wants to make memories and tackle the seemingly hard things in life, but why? Why does she want to stay on the island, especially since she's been there for an incredibly short amount of time? I just had questions as to why Donna chose to do the things that she was wanting to do. She makes random decisions with no reason as to why and I would have liked those questions answered. Judging on what the film gave me, it was difficult to truly form a connection with Donna.
Jeremy Irvine, Hugh Skinner, and Josh Dylan do fine jobs playing young versions of Sam, Harry, and Bill. I won't say that any of them added anything to the established characters, even though the men weren't established much to begin with. The three young actors were more of a means to an end. They had one job - have sex with Donna so Sophie can be born - and once they did, the film seemingly forgets about them one by one. Sam is the one who sticks around with Donna the longest and they manage to form a bond together, but that happens off-screen. We do get to watch them get to know each other, though. It's just that the director decided to turn off the dialogue for most of the scenes in an effort to let the musical score shine, which leads me to the next point of discussion: the soundtrack.
The Soundtrack
Listen, the movie's called "Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again." People who see this film are likely after well-known actors singing and dancing along to popular music, than they are a decent story and character development. Since that's what the majority of audiences are looking for, the efforts of those behind the camera give their best to the choreographed musical numbers.
As with the first one, the story's put on hold on multiple occasions in order to have this musical numbers. While that's bad for the story, it's good for the musical numbers. Most of them are choreographed to perfection and cary genuine emotion with them. One of the numerous issues I had with the original, was that the singing sounded like it was heavily autotuned. While some of the singing still sounds artificial, the director selected actors that are talented singers, such as Cher and Lilly James.
As toe-tapping as they are, they didn't make me want to burst out singing along. That's just me, though. You may have a different experience. My only genuine issue with the musical numbers, is that you're able to guess which one is coming next. Once I saw a statue of Napoleon, I knew that ABBA's "Waterloo" was about to begin. That may only be a problem for those that know the songs selected well. Since I did, I caught all the signs leading up to the numbers.
Grade: C-
With well-executed musical numbers and a lively cast, "Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again" is a sequel better than the first, but may still not warrant a trip to the cinema due to its lack of character development and disinterest in story. Considering that I'm not a fan of jukebox musicals, please note that if you are, you may like this film more than I did. Fans of the first should and will certainly see this sequel in theaters. If you weren't a fan of the first, wait to see this film when it's available to rent or stream.
Conclusion
This has been my review of "Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again." I appreciate you checking out this review. Please let me know your thoughts on my thoughts of the sequel. While you write your thoughts in the comment section, feel free to suggest a film that you'd like me to review next. Please share this with your friends and family. Thanks for reading, I'm Dallin, the Film Fanatic, bye-bye.
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