Read Mixed User Reviews for Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again

4

thedaywalkerJul 22, 2018

This felt like a disney movie amped up to 11, and this isn't a good thing. The whole "fall in love after just meeting" is so old that even disney doesn't do it anymore. Most characters are shallow and very under-developed. The script feelsThis felt like a disney movie amped up to 11, and this isn't a good thing. The whole "fall in love after just meeting" is so old that even disney doesn't do it anymore. Most characters are shallow and very under-developed. The script feels very childish, if that's the right word for it. Can't tell you how many times i rolled my eyes, at the stupid and corny things said by those characters. The amount of unnecessary sub-plots could have been taken out, cutting the movie to at least 90 minutes, Cher's character and plot line comes to mind. It certainly could have been more straight forward, to make it a better movie.

Being a lover of music, i have to admit, some songs are very catchy and good to listen to. The performances are good and convincing, but unfortunately this movie suffers a bit with Meryl Streeps absence, although that point is kind what drives the movie forward.

I wasn't expecting too much of this movie, but wasn't expecting it to be a combination of a live action disney movie and a mexican soap opera.… Expand

6 of 6 users found this helpful60

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5

PeterAlexanderAug 16, 2018

Mamma Mia succeeds in what it is trying to be, unfortunately what it's trying to be isn't very ambitious. While the scenery is nice and there are some upbeat musical scores, ultimately this is a film that is both demeaning to men, women andMamma Mia succeeds in what it is trying to be, unfortunately what it's trying to be isn't very ambitious. While the scenery is nice and there are some upbeat musical scores, ultimately this is a film that is both demeaning to men, women and the art of film.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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6

The3AcademySinsNov 10, 2019

The sequel to the hit ABBA Musical/Movie Mamma Mia has a lot of really great things going for it. The musical numbers have been polished up from the original. The cast really has improved their vocals. The casting is stellar, and there areThe sequel to the hit ABBA Musical/Movie Mamma Mia has a lot of really great things going for it. The musical numbers have been polished up from the original. The cast really has improved their vocals. The casting is stellar, and there are some heartfelt moments scattered throughout. The pacing is a little shoddy, and there are some scenes that can be skipped over entirely. The story is unnecessary, particularly when viewed in the context of the first film. Its a light, fluffy, fun musical you can turn your brain off to.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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6

JLuis_001Jul 22, 2018

I'm an ABBA fan, I love their songs but I was never happy with the results of Mamma Mia, although I know the play is a phenomenon. The truth is that the film didn't leave me satisfied, partly because I'm not a fan of musicals in which all theI'm an ABBA fan, I love their songs but I was never happy with the results of Mamma Mia, although I know the play is a phenomenon. The truth is that the film didn't leave me satisfied, partly because I'm not a fan of musicals in which all the scenes are built based on the musical numbers. I hate when they only talk for a brief moment, they say a few words and seconds later they are already singing and dancing. I really hate that and both films are like that.
I know it's a bit weird that I cannot enjoy the songs I like that way but it just didn't worked with me.

This sequel doesn't invent something new or different and it doesn't want to do it either. It's simply an extension of the first film and what it had already done and that's not necessarily a bad thing but it's not necessarily a good thing either, especially since it wasn't a necessary sequel to begin with. But it's already done so complaining about that is an exercise in futility.

I admit the change of structure in the story by interspersing the narratives of the past and the present helps the film and shake things a bit.
Lily James does a good job as a young Donna and to me she's the only one that leaves a true impression of the cast of that part of the story. While the other part of the cast, ''the famous ones'' they're simply working at half gas, without striving at any time.
Cher's addition doesn't really contribute to anything but it works. At least I've gotta say the film doesn't lie to you, it's practical and simple, it's obviously aimed to a certain type of audience, especially those who enjoyed the first one, so of course they will enjoy this one as well, that's why I give it credit. It's not a film that I'm interested in seeing again but its quality is good enough to excel what is necessary.… Expand

4 of 5 users found this helpful41

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5

BeeceeJul 28, 2018

Unlike some of the reviewers, I actually enjoyed the silly, over-the-top aspect of the original. And those infectiously upbeat Abba songs! This one, though , was quite a disappointment.

This one goes into the past to show how the youngUnlike some of the reviewers, I actually enjoyed the silly, over-the-top aspect of the original. And those infectiously upbeat Abba songs! This one, though , was quite a disappointment.

This one goes into the past to show how the young Donna meets all her boyfriends. Although Lily James does a good job as the young Donna, her exploits with the three young men just aren't that interesting. They used all the really good Abba songs in the first film, so they wind up with a lot of B sides here. And the addition of Cher doesn't make up for the absence of Meryl Streep (except for a cameo appearance), Trying to get more serious doesn't work too well. Hopefully, they won't make another sequel.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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6

MattBrady99Jul 28, 2018

“Be still my beating vagina..”

Here We Go Again, folks. More beautiful scenery and musical numbers. The great ensemble cast returns with a welcome appearance from Cher. The acting from everyone was good. Even the new cast who play the“Be still my beating vagina..”

Here We Go Again, folks.

More beautiful scenery and musical numbers. The great ensemble cast returns with a welcome appearance from Cher. The acting from everyone was good. Even the new cast who play the younger versions of the older characters were pretty solid. Especially Lily James who I thought was crazy good.

What took me by surprise is how sad and really tragic it got. I can tell it struck a chord with the audience by emotionally engaging them. The first movie was about becoming an adult and leaving your home. The second movie focus on moving on after a love one passed. I’m glad these films kept that formula. Still, It’s not all doom and gloom.

However, there are issues.

The story jumps from present day with Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) and the past with Donna (in 1977), which at times made it confusing when it keeps cutting back and forward. For me, it wasn't well executed.

There’s a scene where it tries to be heartbreaking with Pierce Brosnan looking through old photographs of Donna while singing solo. No musical number or anything, just briefly singing. What was intended to be an emotional scene, instead made me cringe in my seat. He’s singing is the reason why. I will give credit for trying in terms of acting.

Of course the cast got much older since 10 years and it shows. They tried to make a joke about it, and it's painfully unfunny. The audience didn't laugh, neither did I. Time has been most cruel to them.

Despites those complaints and praise, it holds no weight to anything. After awhile you soon realize the filmmakers never set out to make a masterpiece or thinking piece. While yes, some of the cast are not best singers (mostly the males) or dancers, but the only thing you have to say is “who cares”. This is pure entertainment with heart. Elevating on enjoyment and most importantly having a good time. While not quite uplifting and lacking some of the energy from the first, but hey. The audience though - Uniting the gays and middle aged mum type of crowd since 2008.

Overall rating: Take a chance on this one!… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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6

JaneMYJul 22, 2018

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I loved Mamma Mia! and liked Mamma Mia! Here we go again. I would have liked it so much better if the new movie followed Donna's diary from the first movie and the music had a much fuller sound. The timeline wasn't right in #2 and would have been so easy to fix with the way the characters were setup. Donna meets Harry in Paris where they don't have sex and then follows her to Greece where they do have sex. It's not hard to do. They could have had the whole Waterloo song and dance scene with her at a Paris music shop where he buys her the guitar, starts playing Waterloo, takes off his shirt for part of the sale, and people passing by join in the song. Even having a bust of Napoleon on the sidewalk would have been so easy. He could follow her to Greece, sees her after Sam's left, asks to see the island, and it would have fit right into the diary entry from #1. Since it was an "oh what a night" sort of diary entry for Donna, it shouldn't have had any of the Harry is really gay overtones to it. When Donna is in Greece, she should have spent more time with Sam seeing the whole island since he was her main guy. They would talk about the hotel idea and him sketching the plans for it. They totally skipped that. Bill doing a boat race in Greece was a better link to the actual diary, but it still opted to not include much of the relative on the Greece mainland for who Donna would later work for and name Sophie after. They could have had such great scenes of them sailing around the island and actually being on the island where they have their "oh what a night" experience. So much of the music in the movie is a cappella or minimal accompaniment. Abba music needs to have a full sound. The lip syncing of Cher was really bad. They could have done so much more with her character as well. Dancing Queen seemed to have solos with the chorus of singers heavily muted. Please NO! Mamma Mia! needs to be high energy with a strong music track to go with the vocals. If the diary timeline had been fixed and the music done with higher energy, I would have loved it as much or more as the first one. I can even enjoy Pierce Brosnan's singing with a good sound track to back him up.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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4

GreatMartinJul 31, 2018

I went into seeing “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again!” not expecting to be surprised and I was surprised in many ways.

First of all I saw Lily James in “Baby Driver” last week and didn’t recognize her and she floored me in this movie. PlayingI went into seeing “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again!” not expecting to be surprised and I was surprised in many ways.

First of all I saw Lily James in “Baby Driver” last week and didn’t recognize her and she floored me in this movie. Playing young Donna, the role played in adult hood by Meryl Streep in the first movie, Lily James is startling, beautiful, incandescent and an excellent actor.

Another surprise to me was Amanda Seyfried who had never impressed me before in the many movies she has made. In this film she looked different, more sparkling and more real

The biggest surprise for me was Cher! Not that she stole the film for the 15 minutes she was in it but because the first 5 minutes she looked bad, was dressed very unlike Cher and seemed very stiff singing “Fernando” but the last 10 minutes she was dressed as the Cher we know and stole all the closing credits from the rest of the cast, including Streep.

A major surprise for me was that I love musicals, especially the old M-G-M, Busby Berkeley choreographed, Astaire & Rogers, Gene Kelley type of movies as along with songs and dances they usually had a good book. “Mamma Mia 2” drove me crazy with a song every two minutes consisting of second tier ABBA songs plus putting in the 3-4 hits that were used in the first “Mamma Mia!” Most songs were sung for absolutely no reason except they were written by ABBA.

“Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again!” is 1 hour and 50 minutes long—go see “Mission: Impossible” and then walk into “Mamma Mia” at the 1 hour and 20 minute point!… Expand