A&E

Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again: A Musical Blast To The Past

Here we go again! The sequel to the forever-adored film Mamma Mia! brought not only many fans to tears, but also compiled the beauty of musical theater, humor and nostalgia into one complex story.

“Without a song or a dance what are we?” sang Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) as she thanks music itself for the events that are to come forth and that have past. Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again starts off with her marveling at the past five years of her rebuilding a hotel with her mother, Donna (Meryl Streep), who passed away a year prior. Sophie had invited many guests to celebrate the grand opening of the hotel, especially to honor her mother with what she would want: a spectacular reunion.

The film also finally revealed the story behind Sophie’s three fathers. The entire film incorporates flashbacks as it goes through the events of young Donna (Lily James) and how she had met Harry, Bill and Sam (Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgard and Pierce Brosnan). It also shows how she fell in love with Sam and he broke her heart.

To complement the story, Donna’s story shows her entire character and is proof to why people would adore her. By bringing Donna’s mother, Ruby (Cher), a completely different storyline was created which unraveled the deeper aspect of Donna and Sophie’s relationship. However, Cher’s character conflicts with the story, as her role was quite unnecessary to add to the film itself.

The movie focuses on how the bond between Donna and Sophie spreads to other characters. Their love touched three men and the mind-blowing Donna and the Dynamos, which brought heavy nostalgia.The Greek island of Kalokairi also seemed even more magical with Sky (Dominic Cooper) and Sophie.

Not only did this film reminisce back to the previous one through the music, but it added many different songs to the soundtrack and used it in a spectacular way to contribute to the plot. Iconic songs such as Dancing Queen or Mamma Mia! were featured along with other songs like Fernando and Why Did it Have to be Me?

A sequel can either make or break the entire movie, so it was somewhat frightening before watching the movie due to expectations. However, this film’s sequel complimented the original by directly connecting to it and answering questions.

Even though this movie had spontaneous colors and picturesque brilliancy that brought tears of joy, the film manages to add tears of sorrow as it expressed the true value of a bond between different relationships: mother and father, father and daughter, mother and daughter, friend and friend, and the overall connection with others.

The tears shed, the shock of events, the climax of sorrow, and the peak of joy all tie in together to teach major lessons in 114 minutes. Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again is a film of unity and of relationships, and the sweetness and gentle aspect of it are shown with amazing cinematography and eye-catching dance numbers.