Review: ‘Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again’ packs nostalgic wallop

The film is mindless escapism, but the musical sequences are outstanding and quite frankly, worth the cash.

From left: Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgård and Pierce Brosnan in Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again. Picture: Universal Studios

Let’s not fool ourselves, Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again is just a way for the ’70s Swedish pop band Abba to cash in on their endless string of hits, and just replacing themselves with a bunch of A-listers doing the singing … sometimes badly.

Does it matter, anyway? No.

This film sequel packs nostalgic wallop like few can.

Unlike the first Mamma Mia, here Sophie is busy relaunching her mom’s dream hotel, and we get to know Donna (and her whirlwind romances that led to Sophie having three dads) through flashbacks after she just graduated from university.

All of it is sentimental schmaltz, but you also want to stand in the aisle like a Dancing Queen during every second of it.

While the first film was based on the stage musical, here, there’s room to make the musical sequences bigger, glitzier and more fun, thanks to a new storyline.

Cher as Fernando in Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again. Pictture: Universal Studios

While Mamma Mia is mindless escapism, these musical sequences are outstanding and quite frankly, worth the cash.

The other real delight is Julie Walters and Christine Baranski who both deliver some memorable one-liners that will have you rolling down the aisles (when you stop dancing, of course). But the real joy comes during the third act when Cher (Fernando) makes her highly publicised appearance.

While the plot is really just pieced around Abba songs, and so many movie sins are committed, there’s a lot to be said for a film that just makes you grin – and that is the real success (okay and each Abba song brought to life again).