Review of Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again

Meryl Streep reportedly didn't want to do a full role, so she only appears for a few minutes near the end of the movie. They basically explain that Donna has died...without Streep, this film never should have been made. It even has a very downbeat, lackluster opening instead of the dynamics the first film had in its opening...and that was a bad sign to start off with. Technically, it's very well photographed (albeit much darker-looking than the first film) and technically accomplished, but that's not enough. Musically...they used all the good and well-known songs in the first movie, so this one uses much lesser ABBA tunes, and unfortunately reuses several songs from the first film...that gets very tiresome very quickly because the viewer (at least I did) wants to hear songs not used the first time around. The only two standouts were "Knowing Me, Knowing You" and the song "Waterloo" (only heard and performed during the first film's end credits) but redone here as a big production number. Half the movie is spent on flashback scenes to Donna's past using younger actors as the characters. There was also absolutely no need for Cher to be in the film, as she adds nothing...nada...zero...to the story...only reason is so her character can sing the song "Fernando" (not used the first time around). She's accompanied by Andy Garcia, whose only reason for being there is he plays Fernando, giving a very weak reason for Cher's character to sing to (and with) him, and there's no reason for his character to be there either. There's also really weak reasoning for Rosie and Bill's breakup to be part of the story, rather odd considering they got together near the end of Mamma Mia. Most annoying was how there was no mention at all of Harry Bright's (Colin) sexuality...in Mamma Mia, it turns out he's gay and ends up with a handsome boyfriend, but that gets thrown right out the window with no mention of his being gay or what happened to his partner from the first film (except for some brief hinting at in the flashbacks with the younger Harry). Personally, I would not recommend this movie to anyone. Stick to the first movie because it's a continual feel-good time and is much more fun. Mamma Mia 2 is almost depressing to watch.