#REVIEW Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again

It’s been 10 years since Mamma Mia was released in 2008, which grossed over $600 million worldwide. Can you believe it’s been 10 years?! I feel like it was just yesterday I was sitting alongside my mom singing along to Abba’s classics such as “Dancing Queen” and “Honey, Honey”.

This decade later sequel features our beloved Sophie (Amanda Seyfried)  half a decade later in the movie, following her mother Donna’s (Meryl Streep) footsteps by opening her own island hotel. Our favourites, Sky (Dominic Cooper), Donna’s best friends Tanya (Christine Baranski) and Rosie (Julie Waters) as well as her former lovers Sam (Pierce Brosnan), Harry (Colin Firth) and Bill (Stellan Skarsgard) all return for round two.

Though the main focus of this film is flashbacks scenes of the origin of how Donna ended up as a single mother on an island. The film focuses a lot on younger Donna played by Lily James (from Cinderella), and it’s almost impossible to not be drawn in by James’ playfulness and beautiful tunes. It was such a delight watching all the younger characters have fun with their roles, no matter how big or small their role was.

My biggest fear was song choice, I kept wondering what songs are they going to use that weren’t already used in the original? Mind you, Abba does have a lot of hit singles, but even the songs that were re-sung, I was very impressed on how each song fit into the storyline so perfectly. There’s one scene in particular where “Dancing Queen” came on, and I totally forgot it was even in the original, because of how everything came together. But James, is the really winner of this film, she had big shoes to fill and did just that.

Cher’s 10 minute appearance near the end of the film was a great addition as well. She plays Sophie’s grandmother and she also sings Abba’s classic “Fernando”, which had the fans excitement going throughout till the end.

Overall, Mamma Mia! Here we go Again is a joyful, fun, big musical number that everyone can enjoy. It’s the perfect summer release to sing, laugh, and even shed a little happy tears.

Universal Pictures releases Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again in theatres Friday, July 20, 2018