Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again!

Loved it.

Better than the first and shows that movie musicals can be cheesy and still be genuine (ahem Greatest Showman).

The reality seems to be that because a US "G" rating is taken by the audience to mean "crap for infants" the equivalents are shifted by about one level: many US "PG" films are released as "U" in the UK. In the UK a film can get a "U" rating if it contains brief non-sexual nudity. In the US it would get a "PG" or probably a "PG-13" rating.

The BBFC's main concern is violent whereas as the MPAA's main concern is sex and language. Men in Black 3 in the UK was a PG which was odd because it had one swear word in it whereas it got PG-13 but sometimes the BBFC can give higher ratings, Suicide Squad was a 15 in the UK but a PG-13 in the US because of the violence and a scene where a character's head is blown up, The Mummy with Tom Cruise was also a 15 too.

Wow. OK I'll be honest I didn't expect this much of a reaction. A few things then. One. Perhaps I wasn't clear in my original post. Yes I was singing along. Not anywhere near full volume and making sure I wasn't being too loud, the film was IMAX and thus deafiningly loud, the music was many, many decibels higher than my quiet singing to myself. Second. I heard one or two others singing along, and I cannot believe for one second that I'm the only one who will sing along to this campy ABBA jukebox musical. Third. If anybody had told me to be quiet or that I was being disruptive then of course I would have been. I'm the first to call out people talking at plays or films that aren't musicals.

I am truly sorry that I appear to have upset so many here. Not my intention at all.

Dominic cooper is probably the luckiest person in showbiz (apart from James Corden). He is totally devoid of talent. Plus I know people who have worked with him and he is the most arrogant person they have ever met- and they’ve worked with MUCH bigger stars.

Reports are saying the film is expected to take $44 million in the US on its opening weekend. Impressive considering the overall box office in the US for the first one was $144 million.

Thursday night previews in the US took $3.4 million at the box office.

I frankly cannot believe all these negative comments . This film (and I have not seen it yet) is a musical, a feelgood happy experience. I have been to many theatre musicals where most of the audience seems to be singing. Abba songs are so well known that is it really all that bad if a fan wants to sing along for the odd song or line. Things are getting very bad when we have to deride someone for enjoying themselves. Lighten up.

So, I quite (sort of) enjoyed it though even though it's a better film than the first one, it definitely wasn't as enjoyable. The lack of Meryl is really felt and though the flashbacks were well done, I'd have much rather had a sequel involving her. The inclusion of Cher seemed a bit desperate (Fernando aside). Rosie and Tanya's scenes were great but there weren't enough of them. Also, there was a distinct lack of bass in the cinema (anyone else have this issue?), so the musical numbers never really took off. Though the last 20 mins were lovely and young Bill was my favourite of the shags.

Having just seen the film tonight is WOW! It was everything I hoped it would be and so much more. I laughed and cried for 2hrs. Being a massive fan of both the stage musical as well as the film adaptation, the sequel for me had so much to live upto and it did that with ease. I don’t know if it was better than the original, but MM2 for me certainly had a different feel to it which is what I was looking for rather than just a carbon copy of the original.

With regards the musical score, it just sounded great on the big screen. What was nice was that as well as the big numbers already released, was the different instrumental versions of ABBA songs within the scenes themselves. I thought the songs from the first film where used to great effect and gave a slightly different interepretation of them rather than being a carbon copy from MM1. With the new songs, I absolutely loved them all. With the different range of songs used showed the creative genius of Benny and Bjorn to write both great pop numbers as well as those heartfelt emotional ballards. For me Angel Eyes was the best comedy song in the film. Julie Walters is definitely the star in that song. I couldn’t stop laughing for the entire song. One song I thought was better in the film than in the stage show was One of Us. The way it was filmed really brought the lyrics to life. I wish they had done the entire Knowing Me, Knowing You as that is the one song that I cannot stop listening to after Dancing Queen. Cher’s interpretation of Fernando was absolute class as she nailed that song. Though the 2 songs that brought me to tears was I’ve been waiting for you and my love, my life. I defy anybody not to be moved by those songs in this film.

Even though Cher isn’t in the film that much, her scenes are absolute gold and that lady has such sass that you cannot help but love her when she is on screen and you would definitely want a gran like her. Is it me or she getting younger and younger over the years? Her voice is stunning even after 50 yrs in the business. Meryl Streep’s appearance is used to great effect and for me gave one of the most emotional moments in the entire film. Lily James really has a great voice for these songs, and the young dynamos are a great double act.

Overall, an absolutely fantastic film and will definitely bring a smile to your face. For those yet to see it, stay until the credits have finished as there a a short post credits scene which is very funny.

I thought I'd feel that way but actually I disagree entirely. I thought Lily James was fantastic - so charismatic and completely captured the spirit and character of Donna. Not having Meryl in the rest of the film made the point when she did appear so much more poignant and meaningful.

As far as I'm concerned it was pitched exactly right.

Well I just loved that- smile on my face the whole time except the 5 minutes I was sobbing near the end. What a treat of a movie!

Yes, the plot is pretty ridiculous but the switches between present day and flashbacks are well constructed. More importantly though, beneath all of that is a lot of heart, especially from the performances of Pierce Brosnan, Amanda Seyfried, Lily James and of course Meryl, all of whom were excellent. I had no idea Lily James was such a good singer!

Christine Baranski and Julie Walters steal the show again, and their younger versions deserve praise for getting the accents and mannerisms perfect - all the scenes with younger or older Tanya and Rosie were hilarious. The younger versions of Sam, Bill and Harry were also great - Waterloo is the most ridiculous thing I have seen in a long time (in a good way) and I won't be able to get those images out if my mind for a while! Cher is Cher is Cher - she takes over just by being there, and Fernando was possibly the funniest part of the entire film (again in a good way). The only disappointment was Dominic Cooper, whose singing has got even worse. He made Brosnan sound good by comparison! But his role is relatively minor so it doesn't matter.

The music works so much better than it did in the first film and although it starts off cheesy, there are some real heartfelt highlights, none more so in the chapel scene, which is just beautifully done. Some of the songs from the first film are reused but in really good ways, especially Mamma Mia and I Have a Dream, and others are great nods back to the original. A couple of great unexpected cameo performances too, and the ending song works brilliantly, if a little abruptly.

I laughed until my sides ached and sobbed at the end, and was singing Abba all the way home. Brilliant, pure feelgood start to the weekend, and I'll definitely be repeat viewing!

Saw this last night and really enjoyed it - it ticks the boxes that the first film ticked - I got totally choked at the end.  Feelgood factor is 10/10, and it's great to see so many of those involved with the original theatre show carried through to this film (production/music).  Go see it - like her or loathe her, Cher's cameo almost steals the show (if it wasn't for the delightful and superb Lily James).

On the subject of people singing along, I had the misfortune to be sat next to the neighbours from hell.  Two overly-obese women waddled in with wheelbarrows of popcorn, plonked their numerous children into seats, handed out carrier bags full of food (must be a troughy trend for feeding kids these days - see earlier post regarding School of Rock), and then placed their sizeable backsides at the end of the row, leaving me and adults within the vicinity as proxy childminders.  I despise this kind of "parenting".  (I'm guessing, to rip off something Michael McIntyre once said about "Argos", it's theatre for the poor...)    Anyway...  I loved the film.  Just not other people's disruptive brats. And off they waddled at the end, presumably to indulge themselves in more ignorant bliss.