It was everything I wanted it to be, and more.
The first "Mamma Mia" is best reviewed and explained by one of my favorite movie reviewers on YouTube — Karsten Runquist. You can watch his videos here.
Throughout the video, he bashes the plot, characters, and acting, but praises the music, choreography, and the fun tone and atmosphere. I couldn't describe it any better than he has. You don't watch either of the "Mamma Mia" movies for depth or good acting — you watch them purely for the good time.
I knew this going into the second one, so I'm going to give it a higher review than I normally would.
Like its predecessor, "Here We Go Again" lacks in all of the basic thematic areas (acting, storyline, depth, plot, etc) but thrives in other aspects such as choreography, how attractive the actors and actresses are, visuals, and cinematography (sometimes).
The latest release also lacks all of the Meryl Streep goodness I was hoping for; even with all of these massive flaws, however, I still loved it.
Of course, the nit-pick in me was making comments throughout the movie — like I was a smarter version of the narrator from CinemaSins — but I really did enjoy this movie. In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I went back to watch it again a second time.
Side note: if you're not aware of the CinemaSins channel on YouTube, they are self-proclaimed move critics — but most of their critiques throughout their videos are just plain wrong, or without evidence to back up their claims.
Even so, they're pretty fun to watch. You can find their video about "Mamma Mia" here.
Now, back to what I was saying. I thoroughly enjoyed "Here We Go Again," and, as always, I love a good musical. If I could break into a song about the events of my life every 10 to 15 minutes, believe me, I would.
However, when I say "I shouldn't have seen 'Mamma Mia 2,'" I'm referencing all the romance and sappiness of it.
Every time I watch something with so much romance, I find myself swooning at the idea of love and relationships — like I'm fifteen all over again. It's not very healthy to keep going back and forth on my beliefs, but I can't help that I'm a secret romantic at heart.
With this in mind, I think twice is enough for this movie. In reality, that's a lie; I'll keep feeding the romantic in me until the day I die.
Either way, I would definitely recommend watching both "Mamma Mia" and "Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again" just for the fun of it. Keep in mind you're not going to be experiencing a deep, well-written plot, but it'll be such a good time anyhow.
I hope you enjoy!
