Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (2018) [Movie Review]


Dir: Ol Parker
Starring: Lily James, Amanda Seyfried, Christine Baranski, Julie Walters, Pierce Brosnan
Dur: 1 hr 57 mins
Genre: Musical-Rom-Drama
Rating: 6/10

This is the sequel of the 2008 film which set a very high bar. Sadly, this one seemed to fall on its face. When I first watched Mamma Mia I was so fascinated by the whole project. A beautiful story, tailored to fit in some of Abba’s greatest hit songs; it was just wonderful. So, I had pretty high expectations for this movie. I waited a long time for it and when I finally got a chance to watch it, I could hardly wait. But then as the minutes ticked by, I realized that my waiting was not so much for the film to be released as much as it was for it to end! Don’t misjudge my words; it isn’t a terrible film, it’s just that it didn’t have a similar feel like its prequel. The essentials were all there: the romance, the song and dance, the network of connections, but yet it felt empty.


I wasn’t too impressed by the plot. It seemed at certain points that the writers had run out of ideas and were just forging connections and twists to keep the film running. The song and dance choreography was just top drawer. Perhaps they are the real carriers of the film. The story is passé. Lily James, who plays young Donna, is brilliant. She delivers the most powerful performance in the film and perhaps one of her all time best. She has been nominated for her role and I sincerely hope she wins that award; she totally deserves it.

The film has a lot of crossing over: the present melts into the past which blends seamlessly back with the present. The editing, camerawork, choreography and perhaps even the direction, all create a magical feeling but the story is a let down. It tries to serve as the origin story of the first film, explaining the unexplained; again, something it does shoddily. It doesn’t give a good message but compensates with a grand finale. However, there again, the whole thing seems forced. So if you’ve seen the first film, don’t bother watching this one. If you haven’t seen either, then I suggest you begin with this film and then go back and watch the prequel.  

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nd4cLL_MP7M

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Great Grand Masti 2 (2016) (Movie Review)

Image
Dir: Indra Kumar Starring: Vivek Oberoi, Riteish Deshmukh, Aftab Shivdasani, Urvashi Rautela Dur: 2 hrs 10 mins Genre: Comedy Rating: 1/10 Comment: The jokes, gestures and costumes are sexually suggestive. An absolute waste of time. “What an opening line”, you might think. But to say otherwise would be an absolute lie. This film is in fact, a great grand waste of time. It’s horrible whichever way you look at it. The story is weak and thrives on cheap thrills and sorry jokes. The actresses are no doubt eye-catching but the rest is all a blur. The comedy is in fact tragedy and the film attempts to play on the basest desires of man. It’s unbelievable that actors like Riteish and Vivek would do such a film. I am not a big fan of bollywood but I still feel bad when I see bollywood making films like these. All of a sudden, I see that sex is being propagated through Indian cinema. The views of sex are changing and filmmakers and actors are not hesitating to take on unconvent
Read more

The Challenge of Mercy

Image
Pope Francis has declared this as the year of mercy, and up until now plenty of reflections have been preached and published on mercy. Perhaps each of us too have made our own reflection on the theme of mercy. Since the inauguration of the year, my mind has often reverted to this theme. Every night when I make an examination of conscience, I evaluate myself: my thoughts, words and deeds vis-à-vis mercy. I realize that I am not merciful most of the time and that I resort to do what benefits me over the merciful thing. Pope Francis realized that the Church needed to revisit the theme of mercy; to reflect upon it and put it into practice. Mercy is at the heart of the Gospel. Jesus is the personified revelator of the Father’s mercy. Through his words and deeds he suffused the scent of mercy. His teachings on mercy are appreciated and continue to inspire people even today. The Church itself was founded on mercy: Christ became the expiation for our sins (1 Jn 4:10; Heb 2:17). He for
Read more

Andadhun (2018) [Movie Review]

Image
Dir: Sriram Raghavan Starring: Ayushmann Khurrana, Radhika Apte and Tabu Dur: 2 hrs 18 mins Genre: Black Comedy Crime Thriller Rating: 3/10 I watched this film on good recommendations. It was hailed as one of the best films of 2018. The mystery surrounding the film went well with the mystery that was actually the film itself. I learnt a hard lesson after watching this film and that is not to go by what other’s say about a film. Given Bollywood’s film making standards, I should not have been surprised. Yet, I found myself pleasantly surprised at the end product. Andadhun tells a complex tale of blindness in a world that is not blind even though it appears so. Confused? Well then, watching the film is not going to make it any better. This film is a classical example of postmodern film-making. It is replete with ample plot twists that don’t allow you to settle into its tricky narrative. Just when you think you have it all figured out, a new twist emerges and challe
Read more