Coming a full ten years after the first film, Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again, picks up again with all the characters we fell in love with the first time a ways down the road from when we last saw them. Within that time, the filmmakers managed to craft a follow-up that is maybe, possibly, and much to my surprise better than the first one.
Sophie (played by Amanda Seyfried) is putting the finishing touches on a remodel of her mother's treasured hotel on the small island of Kalokari in Greece. Her mother, Donna (played by Meryl Streep), passed away a year prior so the completion is something of a tribute to her mother on behalf of her and her father Sam (played by Pierce Brosnan). To mark the reopening, they are planning a grand celebration with the return of old friends, including Donna's best friends Tanya (played by Christine Baranski) and Rosie (played by Julie Walters) as well as Sophie's other dads, Bill (played by Stellan Skarsgard) and Harry (played by Colin Firth). During this, we also flashback to when Donna (played by Lily James) first struck out on her own, first to Paris where she met Harry (played by Hugh Skinner), and then on to Greece, where she first meets Bill (played by Josh Dylan) and then Sam (played by Jeremy Irvine), as well as how she first wound up with her beloved hotel. By her side for much of it are her beloved best friends Rosie (played by Alexa Davies) and Tanya (played by Jessica Keenan Wynn).
Ol Parker both wrote and directed the film, from a story he developed with Richard Curtis and Catherine Johnson. They took inspiration from one of the greatest sequels of all time, The Godfather, Part II, to craft their follow-up with a movie that is at once a sequel and a prequel. Parker does a great job balancing both halves of the film as it transitions from the past to present day with ease. I also have say it takes balls of steel to make a sequel and kill off the beloved main character of the previous film, a plot point I was initially very resistant to, but it does add a strong poignancy to the film that actually sneaked up on me and I was not expecting.
Of course, the main draw of the film is the musical numbers. I feel that they were maybe a bit better integrated into the narrative, but it probably helps that this film uses some deeper ABBA cuts like "When I Kissed the Teacher" or "Why Did It Have to Be Me". Some of the more popular songs do make an appearance though, such as young Donna and Harry having lunch at a Napoleon themed restaurant so we can shoehorn in "Waterloo" (which is not a complaint, in fact it's one of the best numbers in the show). "Dancing Queen" also makes a second appearance towards the end in a wonderfully triumphant sequence. Of course, it also feels like they stepped things up a little in terms of the musical numbers, such as the aforementioned "Why Did it Have to Be Me" being performed on Bill's sailboat in the middle of the ocean, which could not have been easy to shoot. The same for both the "Waterloo", which was playful and fun, and the reprise of "Dancing Queen" being a huge and wonderful spectacle.
The whole cast of the original film return for this outing, including Meryl Streep in a scene I won't spoil except to say it was beautiful and absolutely wrecked me emotionally. Amanda Seyfried leads the film for the modern day segments, fretting about the opening of the hotel as well as her strained relationship with boyfriend Sky (played by Dominic Cooper). Pierce Brosnan is back as Sam and does well at being a source of support for Sophie as the two try to get the hotel open. For those who didn't like his singing in the first one, he is mercifully spared from singing for most of the film, aside from one small, poignant moment that I really rather liked. Christine Baranski and Julie Walters are as much fun as ever slipping back into their roles as Tanya and Rosie, returning for the grand reopening and to help Sophie. Also back are Stellan Skarsgard and Colin Firth, who don't have as big of parts this time around, but certainly make a fun pair for their scenes together (I won't spoil it, but you'll see what I mean when you see the movie). Andy Garcia is a new addition to this film as the manager of the hotel who, in a fun twist, has a strong connection to Sophie's family that I don't think she was even aware of. And, of course, I have to talk about Cher as Sophie's grandmother. Anyone going to this just for her is going to be disappointed as she doesn't show up until towards the end, but she is fantastic as Ruby.
The prequel side of the cast is equally impressive, led by Lily James who manages to so perfectly embody Donna with her infectious free spirit nature, it's easy to see why the three guys she encounters in her adventures all fall for her right away. On the other side of the coin, they found some wonderfully charismatic guys to play the younger versions of the three guys. First up is Hugh Skinner as wonderfully innocent and funny Harry who pretty much falls for her the moment they meet in a hotel lobby in Paris. After that, she encounters Bill in Greece, played by Josh Dylan, who is frankly quite charismatic and smoking hot so no judgement there for jumping from one guy to the next. Finally, there's Jeremy Irvine as the younger Sam, who she meets when she first arrives on Kalokari. He has some good chemistry with Lily James, but anyone who saw the first film knows how this one ends as well.
Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again is a triumphant and fun second outing with a group of characters I have always loved, while also delving into their past and showing how some key events referenced in the first film actually played out. It is just as much a bright and lively musical as the first film, but with a bit more of an emotional center to it as well making the film overall a little more satisfying than the lightweight original (which, don't get me wrong, I still love just as much). Fans of the original film will probably love this one just as much. I know I did, as I sat in the dark with my ice cold soda, tapping my feet and singing along with every song.
There is something about Mamma Mia that really captured the public's attention. A smash hit Broadway musical that became an equally smash hit film musical that grossed over $600 million dollars in the summer of 2008. But in the intervening years, it has seemed to garner more hate than love, at least online. Now, and I can't quite believe it's been that long, ten years later the film has a sequel, Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again. I decided in honor of the ten year anniversary of the film, as well as the release of the new film, I'd take a look back and see if it still holds up.
Sophie Sheridan (played by Amanda Seyfried) has grown up never knowing who he father is. Now at the age of 20, with her wedding to her fiance Sky (played by Dominic Cooper) approaching, she had discovered a diary belonging to her mother, Donna (played by Meryl Streep). Within those pages are three likely suspects for her father, Sam (played by Pierce Brosnan), Harry (played by Colin Firth) and Bill (played by Stellan Skarsgard). She decides to invite all three to her wedding, convinced she'll know immediately which one is her real father. Of course, things don't quite pan out that way and Donna is understandably mortified to see three of her exes show up out of nowhere, seeking solace in her two best friends, Tanya (played by Christine Baranski) and Rosie (played by Julie Walters). As the festivities continue to wind up, Sophie finds herself overwhelmed as she tries to figure out which of the three men is her father while Donna tries to resist the rekindled spark between her and Sam.
Phyllida Lloyd, along with screenwriter Catherine Johnson do a good job of transitioning the musical from the stage to the screen. They do a good job of not making the film feel too stagey and opening up the action to beaches, boats and assorted locales around the Greek island the film is set in. The cinematography by Haris Zambarloukos is gorgeous and gives the proceedings a warm and welcoming fell that compliments the film nicely. They also stage the various musical numbers that run throughout the movie in really fun ways with a nice sense of humor to them as well. The film maintains a light and humorous feel throughout that compliments it's soundtrack of ABBA songs.
The film has a stellar cast, starting off with Meryl Streep as Donna, who gives the role her usual level of dedication as she does an admirable job singing throughout the film. I could tell she was having fun with the role though. The same goes for both Julie Walters and Christine Baranski, both having fun with their roles as Donna's friends. Pierce Brosnan took a lot of flack for his singing in this, but honestly I didn't think it was that bad. Either way, he makes a decent romantic foil for Meryl Streep. Stellan Skarsgard is a lot of fun as the adventurer Bill, who writes books about his various misadventures and catches the eye of Rosie, a fellow writer herself. Colin Firth has fun with his role as the sweet and good-natured Harry, not afraid to make him a little dorky. Amanda Seyfried is charming as Sophie and manages to make her character's hare-brained scheme seem at least understandable, if not all that plausible. Dominic Cooper does his best with the rather thinly written role of Sky, but he seems to be mostly around to be eye candy, which the handsome Cooper most certainly is.
This film came along at a time when I needed it the most. I was in a very depressed and unhappy place and this film managed to put a smile on my face at a time when I desperately needed it. Because of that, I tend to get a little defensive when people rip on it, which they tend to do quite mercilessly (looking at you, Nostalgia Critic). It's a lightweight piece of musical fluff that is clearly not meant to be taken seriously for a second, punctuated by some of the most infectious pop songs ever written. If that's not your cup of tea, by all means move along. But I'm left baffled with why some people are so angry about a film that is so silly. At this point, I've moved on but I still felt the need to address this sort of hatred that has inexplicably developed around this film.
Still, the film has it's fans as well and I certainly count myself among them. I still watch the film regularly as well as listen to the soundtrack. This movie may not be for everyone, but if you don't find a bit of lightweight fun every once and enjoy the music of ABBA, then you'd probably love this movie as much as I do. And if you don't, well don't talk to me then. I don't need that kind of negativity in my life.
After the emotionally devastating Avengers: Infinity War, going into the more comedic antics of Ant-Man and The Wasp was a refreshing piece of lightweight fun. The film reunites all the cast members from the first film for this new outing that while not as much fun as the first film, still remains an enjoyable and fun superhero outing
Scott Lang (played by Paul Rudd) has been confined to his house on house arrest for the past two years due to his involvement in the events of Captain America: Civil War. He is days away from the end of his sentence when Hope (played by Evangeline Lilly) and her father, Hank Pym (played by Michael Douglas), re-enter his life thinking he may hold the key to finding Hank's wife and Hope's mother, Janet (played by Michelle Pfeiffer), who has been trapped in the Quantum Realm for the past 30 years. Also new on the scene is a new baddie, known as Ghost (played by Hannah John-Green), who is after Hank and Hope to get some technology she needs to hopefully fix her constantly phasing nature from solid to not and is willing to do whatever it takes to get it. If that wasn't enough, they also have a shady dealer Sonny Burch (played by Walton Goggins) on their trail, wanting the Pym technologies for his own nefarious purposes. On top of all of that, Scott is also trying to keep off the radar of Detective Jimmy Woo (played by Randall Park), lest he find out Scott is not actually at home and therefore jeopardizing his chances of release so he can spend more time with his daughter Cassie (played by Abby Ryder Fortson).
Director Peyton Reed returns to the director's chair to man this sequel, working from a script from a total of five writers, including Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers, Andrew Barrer, Gabriel Ferrari and Paul Rudd himself. Within that group, they managed to craft a film that is reasonably entertaining with a few nice flourishes I liked in the choices of villains and how they portrayed them. At the same time, it still lacks that same spark the original film had. I can only presume that is because of the noticeable lack of Edgar Wright's contributions that the first film retained, despite him having left that project due to creative differences. That's not to say the film is terrible by any means, but that it lacks the same energy the first film had. Still, the film does come up with some novel touches. They continue Marvel's trend with a sympathetic and understandable villain in Ghost, whose actions are driven by a desperate need to fix her condition. Although, it did occur to me as I was watching the film that if she just approached Hope and Hank and asked for their help, they probably would. But extreme pain probably doesn't make someone think entirely clearly. The film also throws in Walton Goggins character just so there is a more traditional baddie to throw a wrench into the works for Scott, Hope and Hank. And then addition to that, we have Hank and Hope trying to retrieve her mother from the Quantum Realm, which offers some fun surprises I won't dare spoil.
Paul Rudd once again lends his every man charisma to the film that I've always loved seeing in films with him. Evangeline Lily finally gets her superhero moment as The Wasp after being on the sidelines with Hank throughout the first film and once again rocks it as Hope. Michael Douglas is clearly having fun as Hank, delivering each of his characters jibes to Scott with perfection. Michael Pena once again shows up as Luis and is just as funny in this one after damn near stealing the first film. They do revisit the gag of Luis trying to tell a story again, but do make us wait for it. But it was once again one of the biggest laughs of the movie. Laurence Fishburne pops up as a former associate of Hank Pym that may or may not be the ally they are looking for. Hannah John-Green does reasonably well with her role as the Ghost and does a surprisingly good job making her character relatable and sympathetic, while also establishing her as a formidable foe.
While Ant-Man and The Wasp doesn't recapture the same level of fun as the first film, it is still an amusing and fun time and a wonderful antidote the emotional and intense Avengers: Infinity War. It's not the best Marvel movie, but it's by no means their worst either. It's a bit fluffier than some of their other films, but that's not necessarily a bad thing either.
