Review of Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (2018) by Charles S — 08 Aug 2018

Songs were better this time around. Most of the numbers that were covered in the first film that jumped over to this one as well were better than the original films. Favorite new songs were "When I kissed the teacher", "Why Did it have to be me", "Andante, Andante", and "Angel Eyes". My favorite overall tracks where "when I kissed the teacher", "Mamma Mia" and "Super Trouper". The score was very well done, composed by Anne Dudley. She did an amazing job interweaving so many ABBA songs into the score.

Lily James is by far the best new addition to the cast. She brings a sunny exuberance and energy to the movie, which it's lacking in many other areas. She's also the best singer of the new cast. Lily James might want to consider a music career perhaps. Or maybe more musicals at least.

Donna's best friends, in both the present day and flashback scenes, are total scene stealers. They have all the best lines, especially Tanya, played by both Christine Baranski and newcomer Jessica Keenan Wynn. The three younger cast members have a fantastic chemistry that carries over in their musical numbers.

Old Greek Lady Sophia was a total scene stealer.

The younger male cast where also charming and welcome new additions. Josh Dylan, who plays a younger Bill, is the best of the three. His number "Why Did It have To Be Me" was fun and his voice is quite good. His return during the "Mamma Mia" number was also nice and unexpected. The scenes on his boat are particularly well executed.

I also liked all the England and Paris locations. They were a nice switch up visually and gave the film some scale. The island locations are still breathtakingly beautiful and the set design is detailed and well put together. The cinematography in this regard is superb. Everything looks big and colorful.

The costumes and authentic 70's clothing were great! It was fun trying to see how many outfits I could find in a single scene. The final dance number costumes were probably my favorite.

Returning cast is fantastic of course. Amanda Seyfried is so darn charming and probably the best singer in the cast outside Cher of course. Pierce Brosnan thankfully spares us a fullmusical number, and has a nice, whisteful reprise of SOS during the movie. Everyone is smiling, dancing, singing, and looking like they are enjoying themselves. What more could you want from a musical film.

Cons.

Death of Donna hangs over this film, and puts a damper on many of the present day scenes and musical numbers. Characters spend too much time talking about her death or crying over her death. And Donna's spirit randomly showing up at the end for that song was just really off putting. It felt extremely forced and even though it was an emotional song and performance, it just didn't work for me.

The directing and editing was very hit or miss. Some of the numbers were almost lifeless and the dancing was bland and forgettable. The overuse of cross cuts or smash cut transitions between the flashback and present day scenes was just lazy in my opinion. It worked in some instances, but then they would over do it. The transitions between songs were jarring at times. Some of the night scenes were obviously shot during the day and darkened down later in post and it's REAL DISTRACTING.

Many of the scenes that took place off the island had a weird vibe to them, and you can tell most of them were shot on a soundstage. They feel disconnected from the rest of the film. Harry and Bill's scenes before they reached the island were especially bad.

The writing was also scattershot. Cher's character contributes very little to the story, and the way the rest of the cast treats her goes against the rest of the movie and the story it's telling. It was just weird for me, but Cher is always a plus. So I can let it slide in this instance. Some of the romance got too gooey and sugar sweet for my tastes, but that is the whole point of Mamma Mia, and ABBA in general. I guess I shouldn't hate the movie for being what its supposed to be, an upbeat joyous musical.