LogFAQs > #932924940

33. Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again(2018)

KBM: 19
JONA: 21
Scarlet: 25
Inviso: 31
Johnbobb: 31
Karo: 31
Genny: 32

KBM - Why I Chose It: The sequel to 2008's mega-blockbuster Mamma Mia!, which was based on the smash Broadway jukebox musical of the same name, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again managed to be a moderate surprise of its own, managing not only a nearly $400 million gross worldwide but also an 80% rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, many of whom described the film as better than the original.

My Thoughts: I love ABBA. And, as it turns out, all it really takes for one to enjoy this movie, at least on the level of a guilty pleasure, is to love ABBA. In fact, hell, I tend to agree with a lot of the critics: I think this movie is better than the first one. While the plot (or what passes for one at least) is certainly a lot weaker than the first movie, which was pretty light in story to begin with, I felt the sequel made up for it with more competent direction and better musical performances. With the likes of Pierce Brosnan and Stellan Skarsgrd relegated to either mumbling a single verse of a song in a low key or singing mercifully undermixed background vocals, the musical numbers are put on the shoulders of people who can actually sing, like Lily James, who does a great job as the young Donna, and the various no-name stage actors they got to portray the young versions of the dads in the flashbacks. Now, there were still definitely some things that didn't work most of the comedy fell flat and as I said, the plot was as thin as they come but after the first couple numbers, I found myself completely unbothered and just kind of rocked out to the ABBA soundtrack, which this time included a lot of their more underrated deep cuts alongside the overplayed hits (which really didn't need reprises in this movie, but I guess everyone expects to hear Dancing Queen and Super Trouper so whatever, it's fine). Cher was also a highlight in her limited role, and I wish she'd gotten more screentime (her rendition of Fernando proving she's Still Got It even in her 70s). I'm not too proud to admit that I even got a bit choked up maybe even more than a bit when Meryl showed up as a Force Ghost towards the end to sing her duet with Amanda Seyfried. So yeah, not a masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination, but a movie I thoroughly enjoyed watching nonetheless... at least, once I got past the paper-thin premise and corny jokes.

Favorite Song: Either My Love, My Life or When I Kissed the Teacher

JONA - Mamma Mia 2: Pay Suicida is a very unnecessary prequel/sequel. Seeing a new cast for the younger versions of characters does help make things fresher but the story doesnt add anything too substantial. The storyline in the present is just plain dull though. Who the hell cares about story when watching Mamma Mia 2 though? These movies are pretty much excuses to listen to ABBA music and for older women to reminisce about being young again. While I dont fit in the latter half, I do like listening to ABBA music and its still great. Sucks that theres a decent number of repeats from the first movie though. Its understandable though since they are some of the more popular songs and it would be weird for a Mamma Mia movie to not have that song. It was a cool surprise to see Cher in the movie and she has a great number. Knowing Me, Knowing You was my favorite song that wasnt in the original, but it sucks that it didnt get much time. Grrr. Shutting down the arena! Still a stupid, fun time just like the original.
Favorite Song: Fernando

Scarlet - If youre going to make a pointless movie, at least do it with a loaded cast and relish the stupidity. If you think about it, this tiny little Greek island has been terrorized for decades by ABBA. And not even the real ABBA. An ABBA comprised of Diane Lockhart, two British secret agents, a naked Scandinavian scientist, and Meryl Streep. Oh, and Jesse Custer is there too.
Best Song: Super Trouper

Inviso - This has gotta be one of the most unnecessary sequels Ive ever had the misfortune of watching. I didnt hate the original Mamma Mia TOO much. I admit that its far-inferior to the stage production, but thats neither here nor there. Its a perfectly acceptable musical, specifically written as to weave a story amongst the collected works of ABBA. But this? This feels like a blatant cash grab after the first movie did decently at the box office. There are several repeat songs, but for the most part, the soundtrack feels forced into a plot that was created SOLELY to make a sequel its not fun to watch by any stretch of the imagination. I never gave a shit about Sophie in the first movie. Meryl Streep was the selling point. Yet the whole plot revolves around her being dead, and we only see Donna in her young, teenaged form. Hell, Cher was another selling point, yet HER character shows up 2/3 of the way through the movie, and her characterization is rushed SO fast that she might as well not even exist. This was just extremely sloppy, and I cant give it even a decent ranking this time.

Johnbobb - man this was just... I mean the songs were fine and the costuming was solid, but man was this uninspired in pretty much every way. The Dancing Girl performance in particular was just horribly forced. Plus the movie reuses FOUR songs from first one? This just really isn't a movie that needed to exist.
Favorite song: When I Kissed the Teacher

Karo - So apparently Donna has randomly died for reasons that arent explained (though it was probably liver failure), and Sophie has taken over her dream of building a resort in such an absurdly remote location that it would go broke within a year.
Cue flashbacks of Donna globetrotting around the world, fucking lots of men and possibly a goat and a horse. Yes, we know mommy was a slut, do we really need spend half the damn movie going into the lurid details? It is still anyone's guess who Sophie's father is, but given how she acted in the first movie I'm betting on the goat.
Hey, you thought the first movie's soap opera storyline was bad? Then wait until you get a load of this idiotic drivel that is written like the fanfiction of a sexually repressed 40 year old woman.
Mamma Mia absolutely did not need a sequel. You know what really needs a sequel? Pompeii. On this island. Before they make a fucking third movie about these fucking characters.

Score: 27/100

Best Song: 'When I Kissed the Teacher'

Genny - I cannot say that I'm a huge fan of ABBA outside of one or two songs, so to summarize this entire film I just wasn't that into it. I feel like it didn't need to exist which