Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again

"Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again. Just the title alone sounds like a threat. That pun of a subtitle certainly doesn’t fill one with confidence that this ten-years-later blend of sequel and prequel is going to be any different to the rather ghastly original. Thankfully, whatever it was that kept the 2008 film from capturing the true power of ABBA’s greatness has been vanquished a decade later. Perhaps it’s just because the world is such a soul-crushing hellscape right now, but its loud and often shrill theatrics are a relative tonic and a refreshing change of pace. I fell for it hook, line and sinker."

"Here We Go Again indeed, because in many ways this is a repeat of the first film’s fizzy cocktail of big name stars, belting out Abba hits in a fun rom-com set against postcard-perfect Aegean scenes."

"The feeling comes through, especially at the end — a love poem to the primal bond of mothers and daughters."

"The sparkling blue waters are pretty, and the songs are catchy, but you may well wind up feeling smothered by the non-stop corniness of it all."

"The first film’s very specific pleasures are comprehensively encored."

"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."

"Sequels either coast to the finish line knowing they'll make a buck anyway, or work hard to justify their existence at all. I reckon Here We Go Again is one of the latter. Bravo."

"It’s clear from early on that MM!HWGA is better made, sung and choreographed than its predecessor."

"The rare sequel so unexpectedly enchanting that it plays less like a rehash than a reclamation."

"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."

"Go right ahead and mark this down as a minor, yet welcome movie miracle. For Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again is that rare movie sequel that markedly improves upon everything everybody so enjoyed about the original."

"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."