Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again Review

Lovers of the first 'Mamma Mia!' will certainly feel a sharp absence of Meryl Streep, who appears only in the last two songs. The story is half in flashback, showing Donna, Meryl Streep's character in the first, travelling around the world in her youth, trying to find her way in life- basically lots of pretty European locations. They show how she ends up on the island on which she later owns a hotel, and how she met the three fathers of her daughter in the first place. (Don't know what the three father story is? This movie is probably not for you, as you need to watch the first one before this.) The now part of the story is about Sophie re-opening the hotel on the island and throwing a huge party, with everything obviously not falling into place.

The three young dads do not do the older ones justice. And since the first half of the movie covers young Donna, who is actually pretty good, meeting the three men one by one, it's not all that exciting. And most parts with Sophie in it is about her missing her mother, who passed away a year ago, and wanting to make her proud. This might be sweet, but I think we got the message after the first five times itself.

The second half of the movie brings together the old cast, and a lovely new entrant: Cher playing Sophie's grandmother. Only the second half of the movie should've been the whole, or the part with the young Donna should've been a lot less dreamy.

The songs of this movie are also GREAT, with a return of 'Dancing Queen' and of course, 'Mamma Mia!', making you nostalgic and sing along.

The two childhood best friends of Donna, however, are the highlight of the movie. They were fun, emotional, quirky, exciting, and all at the right times. While the three dads were so too, the younger versions of them did not do justice and the older ones did not get much of screen time. However, all versions of the best friends were fabulous.

More than enjoying this movie while watching it, you realize you're busy missing the old one, which did have a much better story. But who expected it to be as good, anyway?