Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again Review

Ten years ago the film adaptation of Mamma Mia was a huge hit, especially in the UK – it made $615.7 million from a $52 million budget. So a sequel has been made and somehow the filmmakers put a lot more effort into this film.

Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again is both a sequel and a prequel to the original film. Set five years after the events of the original film Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) is about to fulfill her mum’s dream and open the Hotel Bella Donna.

Back in 1979 Donna Sheridan (Lily James), Sophie’s mum, graduates from Oxford the top of her class and sets out to travel around Europe, meeting Sophie’s potential fathers with hearts breaking on the way.

Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again saw a change in director, Ol Parker replacing Phyllida Lloyd, and Parker and Richard Curtis contributed the screenplay. Their influence was clearly present and they were able to elevate the material. The pair, along with Catherine Johnson, the writer of the original musical had an advantage making the sequel – they weren’t limited to the original stage setting which limited the time frame and location. Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again expands beyond the hotel, showing events in Oxford, Paris, other Greek islands and even the town near the hotel.

Parker and Curtis wanted to explore some deeper themes for the sequel/prequel. The biggest was the relationship between mother and daughter – Sophie is fulfilling her mother’s wishes and both Sophie and Donna have a strained relationship with the family matriarch (Cher). Donna was disappointed when her mother doesn’t show up to her graduation and Sophie doesn’t even bother to send an invite because she knows her grandmother would be a no-show.

The other key theme of the film is one of following your dreams. Donna is a free spirit who does not want to be tied down and she encourages others to follow suit, like the young Harry (Hugh Skinner). Sophie wants to finish her mother’s dream after her death.

Parker and Curtis also injected some more drama into the Mamma Mia series. Both Donna and Sophie have troubled love lives – Sophie and Sky (Dominic Cooper) hit troubled water after he is offered a new job in New York leading to a sorrowful performance of “One of Us” and Sophie falling into despair. Whilst Donna has three lovers in the film and has a committed relationship with young Sam (Jeremy Irvine) which leads to heartbreak.

Parker is a technically better director than Lloyd was. Mamma Mia was Lloyd’s first feature film and her direction was flat. Parker previous film was Now is Good which has a decent 7.2 rating on IMDB and he did assemble a solid team. Cinematographer Robert Yeoman was able to make the Greek island (which was really the Croatian island of Vis) look like somewhere worth visiting because of the bright blues of the sky and the sea. There were also some flashy transitions to different locations and time periods which gave Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again a cinematic quality.

The big draw for most people are the song and dance numbers and fans of the original musical and film will be satisfied. Songs like “Waterloo”, “Dancing Queen” and “Super Trooper” are as cheesy as a block of cheddar and whether you love or hate ABBA their songs are undeniably catchy. Other songs are more emotional or tender – “Mamma Mia” turned from a song of heartbreak to one of triumph. However, anyone hoping to see another Pierce Bronson disaster will be disappointed because the filmmakers played to his strength – Bronson talk-sung his performance of “S.O.S” and acted out his pain and grief. There was a nice touch of using “Money Money Money’s” instruments during a couple of scenes.

Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again saw a large number of new actors and the casting, for the most part, was solid. James had the unenviable task of taking over a Meryl Streep role and the young English actress was able to show her star quality as the younger version of Donna. James has sung before in Cinderella and Baby Driver but with Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again she got to showcase her singing ability, whether it was a big pop number like “When I Kissed the Teacher” to a more reflective “I Have a Dream.”

Jessica Keenan Wynn was pitch perfect as the younger version of Christine Baranski and Hugh Skinner and Josh Dylan were solid as the younger versions of Harry and Bill. Dylan was a handsome specimen of man and he could play the next Thor in the MCU.

Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again is a broad, crowd-pleasing film that will please fans of the original film/musical and ABBA, whilst its bigger scope and improved filmmaking should wider the series appeal.