‘Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again’: A second chance at success

‘Mamma Mia’ grabbed the attention of people all over the world with happy tunes and a charismatic cast. The iconic songs were brought to life by the amazing singers featured in the film. Given the original film’s popularity, it does not come as a surprise that “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again” received the same amount of praise.

In the first movie, audiences went on a journey with Sophie, the heroine, to discover which of the potential candidates is her real father. The arrival of her possible fathers took Donna, Sophie’s mother, down memory lane as she reminisced on her time with each of the three men. Contrary to the first movie, “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again”, delves into the past of young Donna, played by Lily James, after graduating from Oxford University in 1979. Viewers learn more about Donna’s adventures with Sophie’s ‘fathers’: Harry, Bill and Sam.

From the start, the film’s cinematography was its most impressive attribute. The transitions from Donna’s flashbacks and Sophie’s current story flowed well and tied the contrasting scenes together in a pleasing way.

Although one cannot expect award-winning singers from a Hollywood movie, the film’s actors, especially Amanda Seyfried and Meryl Streep who play Sophie and Donna respectively, did an outstanding job singing the original Broadway music.

“There wasn’t a point in the movie where I wasn’t engaged in the story & I personally loved the references to the first movie and the musical as well,” freshman Athena Pacanins said. “I would recommend this movie to a friend because if they loved the first movie, they would totally love this one. It gives a good & strong message about love & family.”

Although the movie had many interesting and positive aspects, the character development was confusing and incomplete at times. The audience was not given much information about any of the characters, making it difficult to understand parts of the film. Questions such as: Why was Harry in France? How did Bill become a sailor? Why did Sam run away to the island? came up and remained unanswered during the entirety of the movie, making it hard to have an emotional connection with the characters.

The plot, like the character development, was unclear and incomplete. Scenes switched without much explanation and without clear transition, making it difficult for the audience to keep up as each scene progressed.

“Some of the parts of the movie that weren’t as good were how they changed up the order of when Donna met Sophie’s fathers. They put Harry first in the second movie when Donna’s diary said he was last in the first one. So, if you’re a huge fan of the first one, that might get you thrown off guard,” Pacanins said.

Overall, the film was relatively repetitive, basic and unoriginal.  The movie was brimming with stereotypes and lacked in diversity, making it a misrepresentation of the real world, a problem that Hollywood movies often struggle with.

Though the film was nothing new or exciting and did not have a spark to it that most people look for, its success piggybacked off of the first movie’s popularity and the loyalty of its fans. This movie could be recommended to people who were fans of the original movie as it might bring them a sense of nostalgia to see the characters and hear the iconic music again.