Ten years later, the team of the hit musical is back in a suite as exciting as a blue flower. New Faces Complete the Cast, Brightening Meryl Streep, Colin Firth or Pierce Brosnan in “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again” of Ol Parker.

Remember, in 2008 we discovered Donna (Meryl Streep) and her daughter Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) on the paradise island of Kalokairi, Greece. On the verge of getting married, the young woman then invited three old conquests of her mother. Who in the hope of discovering the identity of her father, all punctuated by the songs of the Swedish group ABBA.

A few years later, Sophie lives not far from the home of Sam (Pierce Brosnan) on the famous Greek island, without knowing who his father is. She then continues the dream of “Dancing Queen” by inaugurating the Bella Donna Hotel (renovated) where her mother had exiled in 1979. The images of the past arise.

They unveil the story of Donna (Lily James) since graduation until she arrived on Kalokairi, interspersed with meetings with Harry (Hugh Skinner), Bill (Josh Dylan) and Sam (Jeremy Irvine). Sophie then relives this crazy adventure, facing, too, to unforeseen events: the absence of her husband Sky (Dominic Cooper), the preparation of the party and a happy event that looms.

A casting of choice

From the first minutes, the stage is set. The team of the first film is (almost) complete and if the years have spun, leaving in their passage ripples and white hair. They have not however altered the complicity of the characters. Amanda Seyfried also remains determined, Julie Walters (Rosie) keeps her sensibility amusing and Colin Firth (Harry) remains true to himself: always so clumsy. The star of Kingsman has also not lost its superb, having even improved over time, like the good wine. In any case, this is humorously emphasized by the customs officer of the port (Omid Djalili). The same can not be said of Pierce Brosnan because, let’s face it, the former James Bond took a big shot of old.

Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again does not drag on in the present and goes back in time. Here we are in 1979 to relive the adventures of the young Donna and the meeting with her three loves. Lily James, Hugh Skinner, Josh Dylan and Jeremy Irvine submit the main characters to a makeover without denaturing them. Happy to finally discover the course of the leader of the Donna and the Dynamos. The back and forth temporels perplex, at least during a good third of the film. Without questioning the choice of casting, the portrait of the young Donna arouses a sense of anachronism in the viewer as this girl looks like Shakira.

At the rhythm of the tubes

Mamma Mia! had delighted ABBA fans with the band’s biggest hits. The story unfolded over the Swedish repertoire, making the more novices discover less popular but equally famous songs. Ol Parker, the director of this sequel, adapts the recipe of the one that preceded it, Phyllida Lloyd. Dancing Queen, Here we go again, the band’s famous hits, punctuate the story again. There too, forgotten pieces are interpreted, rightly, by the actors like When I kiss the teacher, Angel Eyes or Thank You for the Music.

The American singer and comedian Cher gratifies us with a shattering entrance, sublimated in the background by a fireworks of great magnitude. She sings Fernando with Andy García, inviting herself to the party in the role of grandmother. And if we have fun with this scene very blue flower, we let ourselves quickly overwhelmed by the emotion against My Love, My Life, taken over by Amanda Seyfried and Meryl Streep whose appearance is far too late.

Rhinestones and sequins are of course at the rendezvous of this feel-good movie to the story already drawn.

Ol Parker still offers, for his fourth feature film, a successful sequel. It gives a youthful look to this famous musical. Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again is brimming with freshness that has the gift of cheering, literally and figuratively.

In the family of suites, do not ask the mother. Mamma Mia! Here we go again in theaters on July 25, proves to be a discouraging recovery of the first installment, released ten years ago. Difficult at the same time not to want to reiterate such a success: ten years ago, Mamma Mia! had generated 1. 5 million entries in France, and more than 600 million dollars in revenue worldwide.

If the 2008 film was adapted from a British musical, this new episode tries the bet of the original scenario, without succeeding. Five years after the events, Sophie (Amanda Seyfried). Who is daughter of the late Donna Sheridan (Meryl Streep who only appears for one song) is about to open the hotel her mother dreamed of, on a Greek island paradise .

To help her, she finds the same characters, her three fathers (Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth and Stellan Skarsgård) and the two friends of her mother (Christine Baranski and Julie Walters). A swarm of characters who have, alas, little evolved between the two films, and who struggle to find their place in a scenario of great laziness, where everything happens by chance and resolves by a miracle.

INFO:

Rating: PG-13 (for some suggestive material)
Genre: Comedy, Musical & Performing Arts
Directed By: Ol Parker
Stars: Lily James, Amanda Seyfried, Meryl Streep
Written By: Ol Parker
In Theaters: Jul 20, 2018 Wide
On Disc/Streaming: Oct 9, 2018
Runtime: 114 minutes
Studio: Universal Pictures

Charlotte O’Sullivan
Euphoria! Tears! Fernando! Dagnabit. This film will leave you high and wet. And willing (almost) to contemplate the prospect of Mamma Mia 3.

Anthony Lane
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, for all its faults, has a musty charm and even, for reasons that involve Meryl Streep, a hint of heartbreak.

Adam Graham
This sequel plays like a familiar song covered by a lesser artist, but the good parts are still intact. If you’re in the mood for a dance, take the chance.

Mikel Zorrilla
An acceptable musical that would surprise me a lot if it did not please those who enjoyed ‘Mamma Mia’. I would advise the others to spend their time watching another movie. [Full Review in Spanish]

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