Five years after meeting her three fathers, Sophie Sheridan prepares to open her mother’s hotel. In 1979, young Donna Sheridan meets the men who each could be Sophie’s biological father.
WHAT I LIKED: The first 'Mamma Mia,' was so incredibly ridiculous that it was actually really enjoyable, but its long-awaited sequel - Ol Parker's aptly named 'Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again,' - is genuinely a properly brilliant musical as far as I'm concerned. Yes gone is the cheesy energy and corny dialogue this time around, and in that place is a far more sophisticated and engaging affair where narrative inspiration is taken rather deliberately from - of all places - 'The Godfather - Part II,' as we see the story of young Donna played out against the sequential journey of her daughter Sophie re-opening the hotel many years later.
As far as I'm concerned that's a rather genius idea from the ever-excellent Richard Curts, and unlike in The Godfather - Part II (yes I am about to compare this Mamma Mia sequel favourably to The Godfather's) the two character journeys here actually work together in parallel to their desired emotional and thematic effects. Donna is letting loose free from the clutches of her life whilst Sophie is clinging on to her nurturing mother and doing everything she can to make her proud, and as their stories develop many other parallels emerge and the ways the old independent character and the new reliant one deal with their troubles in similar and different ways is both touching and amusing as that balance between independence and reliance is something everyone struggles with and relates to in their many different friendships and relationships.
But crucially what sets this apart from the first is that beforehand any serious story or thematic development like that felt more like an emotional undertone delivered in a corny and theatrical manor, but here the whole thing is directed in a far more considered and touching way where the emotion is built delicately utilising a pace of frame that lingers more on the character moments and gives the stellar cast time to utilise their developed acting chops to the best of their abilities. On that note, this cast really is astounding, with the likes of Pierce Brosnan and Amanda Seyfried delivering great performances, and the new entries such as Andy Garcia (a very appropriate casting here) and namely the ever-incredible (and ever-attractive) Lily James steal the show with the kind of seriously nuanced work that we never got to see before.
Equally though, that's not to say that this one has lost all of its predecessor's strangely appealing campy melodrama, as 'Here We Go Again,' is not only far funnier than before with its smarter and snappier script, but it also still has much of that outlandish joy-factor when it comes to the uplifting moments and many of the joyous musical numbers - plus it also still unquestionably packs a few dramatised emotional moments that are just thankfully not nearly as forced as they were before.
Overall then, this sequel really is in a different league when it comes to the standard of filmmaking on display, and that's because its genius narrative is delivered in a way that unlocks plenty of genuine emotion, and in the end it winds up a real tear-jerker as well as a proper feel-good movie at the same time, and frankly you can't ask much more of a musical than that.
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: It's nowhere near as ridiculous as the first one...
VERDICT: A superior sequel to its predecessor, 'Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again,' is a seriously great musical that takes its narrative from 'The Godfather - Part II,' and works with it perfectly. What a bloody brilliant piece of work.
