I’m not typically a sequel fan.
More often than not, I’ll jump on the bandwagon and whine that a movie was perfect as is, and that the magic just can’t be captured again. I was a little wary of a Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again- after all, the first was a cinematic masterpiece. But, as an ABBA fan, I bought a ticket that fateful summer of 2018 and prepared for the unknown.
It was beautiful.
Audiences were given the opportunity to experience the world of the characters they had grown to love during the first film. They could laugh and grieve with them, all while dancing along to high quality Swedish electropop. Outside of this comfort, though, they were given new material to explore in Lily James’ Donna, a free-spirited goddess with the voice of an angel, and her lovable friends and love interests. Wrap that up with the bow that is pop royalty Cher and her phenomenal rendition of “Fernando,” and you’ve got a wonderful movie.
Yet, even after I learned of the film’s greatness, I learned that many weren’t as overjoyed as I was with the long-anticipated sequel. You can’t recapture the magic of the first film, that’s true- but you can find new magic.
Was it better than the first movie? No, not exactly. You can’t really top it. Meryl Streep is an icon, and her performance in Mamma Mia was legendary. I’m not saying that the sequel beats the original! I’m just strongly recommend that we give it the highest respect a sequel can be given, and that we teach generations to come of the greatness that is the Mamma Mia saga. How can we deny the wit and charm of Greecian paradise, ABBA’s greatest hits, and Colin Firth? Mamma Mia 2: Here We Go Again is more than a valid movie- it’s apt cause for a double feature.