Weekend movies

Sequels aren’t always a good idea, especially when the original was a surprisingly fun, colourful, cheesy good time. But when most of the superb original cast sign up to come back it would be silly not to take a chance on them. It’s been 10 years since Mamma Mia! had us leaving cinemas with smiles on our faces and a best-of-Abba album stuck in our heads.

Once a decade for this franchise feels about right — anyone who loved the original will be ready for more of the same.

And though there is more of the same — the same Greek island location and a flimsy story about mothers and daughters and their lovers, interrupted by joyous musical numbers — the new face behind this sequel, writer and director Ol Parker, knew he had to deliver something extra, and he does. It lands in the form of emotional depth.

In Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again, Donna’s daughter Sophie (Seyfried) is dealing with opening a newly renovated hotel at her mother’s house, supported by Donna’s best friends Tanya (Christine Baranski) and Rosie (Julie Walters), and her three dads, Harry (Colin Firth), Bill (Pierce Brosnan) and Sam (Stellan Skarsgard). This event signals new beginnings and brings with it a sense of nostalgia, aided by flicking back in time to learn more about how Donna met her three lovers.

Lily James plays young Donna and she’s absolutely fantastic. For a musical to work you need to unabashedly throw yourself into it, and that’s exactly what James does — delivering youthful exuberance, warmth and charm. Her young lovers are lovely, with decent singing voices and dancing ability (which can’t be said for everyone in the original), and besties Rosie and Tanya, played by Jessica Keenan Wynn and Alexa Davies, are perfect younger versions of their characters.

Cher flies in for a diva supporting role which could have been the wrong tone for a carefree Greek island — but it isn’t, and she takes Fernando to a whole new level.

With a dream cast like this, it’s hard to go wrong. Rousing renditions of Mamma Mia, Super Trouper and Dancing Queen once again draw you in, but it’s broken hearts, grief and new beginnings that deliver the emotional hits. The art is in balancing the two, with the song placement giving the light narrative some bite.

Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again isn’t as uplifting and hilarious as the original but this sun-kissed, wonderfully cheesy celebration of 70s’ Scandi-pop works a slightly different kind of magic; prepare for family to be humming Abba songs over the coming weeks. Francesca Rudkin