Spoilers
Mamma Mia, here we go again is a musical film, with two central plotlines. One is set in the present day focusing on Sophie, (Amanda Seyfried) as she tries to open a hotel in honour of her late mother Donna, (Meryl Streep). The other plotline is a series of flashbacks that chronicle how Donna, met each of Sophies 3 fathers and her early time on the island. Both storylines are good and have emotional weight, which leads to a bittersweet interwoven climax in the film’s third act. Furthermore, the casting of Lilly James as young Donna is spot on, James nails the performance; with it being clear to see she is enjoying every minute of it. However, my one criticism of the flashback storyline is that there is one moment that is clearly trying to be funny but instead comes off as overly awkward. In many ways the present-day storyline, whilst still being good, is overshadowed by the flashbacks. This is true in many ways, such as if we are being honest James is more of an enjoyable presence than Seyfried. The best thing about the present-day storyline is Fernando Cienfuegos, (Andy Garcia), who chews up every scene he is in. Moreover, whilst his character’s late in the game romance with, Ruby, (Cher) produces the best musical number of the whole film, it suffers from being underdeveloped. Finally, the music, the score and the songs themselves are of course superb. However, there is an issue which lies in how the songs are used. Mostly the songs feel spontaneous and natural, but there are a few instances where they feel needless and forced in for the sake of hitting all of ABBA’s greatest hits. Overall, this is a very fun romp, being a nice bit of summer escapism that I strongly recommend you indulge in. This film will make you laugh, cry and most importantly sing along.
3.5/5
Reviewed by Luke
Another Millennial Reviewer 