The first Mamma Mia! often felt like being trapped on a non-stop rowdy middle-aged all-singing all-dancing holiday (in a good way). Ten years on this second trip feels older and wiser, for better or worse, and despite the odd misstep you’ll still be dancing in the aisles come the end credits.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
New York Magazine (Vulture) by Emily Yoshida
Here We Go Again ties up these two wackadoo films’ hijinks in a very sincere bow. After all, Mamma Mia is a mom movie, in every way imaginable.
New York Post by Johnny Oleksinski
In a nice change from Seyfried’s 2008 turn as the ingénue, we want to befriend James’ Donna, not mute her. She’s as gorgeous as she is committed, as funny as she is emotionally true. A big talent.
Ultimately, throwing the same people in the same place with little to do and even less time to do it is emblematic of the sins of far worse, much less worthy sequels. Without Streep there to tie it altogether, well, it just doesn’t sing.
Entertainment Weekly by Leah Greenblatt
A shiny-bright jukebox musical with a heart of gold and a plot of pure polyester, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again works hard to be the feel-giddy movie experience of the summer. And it mostly succeeds in its own glittery, aggressively winsome way.
The Hollywood Reporter by Leslie Felperin
Parker, a more competent and imaginative director than Mamma Mia!’s stage-show holdover Phyllida Lloyd, likes to assemble the musical numbers in such a way as to recall the very earliest days of pop videos, with snappy editing or Busby Berkeley-style overhead shots of choreography veering on abstraction.
“Here We Go Again” is another kitsch patchwork; it’s as if you were watching the CliffsNotes to an old studio weeper that happened to be carried along by some of the most luscious pop songs ever recorded. Yet the feeling comes through, especially at the end — a love poem to the primal bond of mothers and daughters.
The Guardian by Peter Bradshaw
Something in the sheer relentless silliness and uncompromising ridiculousness of this, combined with a new flavour of self-aware comedy, made me smile in spite of myself
The Telegraph by Robbie Collin
The first film’s very specific pleasures are comprehensively encored.
Although I'm often skeptical of sequels, this sequel still somewhat holds up to the fun and light-heartedness of its predecessor. However, don't expect it to be just like the first movie, which will always be a classic in my opinion. This film is for those who just want to relax with some nostalgic music and carefree characters.