Here We Go Again...

It's fair to say that I'm more likely to drag LC to a film than vice versa - in recent months we've seen "Avengers: Infinity War", "Incredibles 2", and "Solo" at my behest, and "Jurassic World 2" at hers (and that wasn't exactly an ordeal). So in a spirit of fairness, I felt it only right that I go with her to see "Mamma Mia 2".

Now, it's fair to note that MM2 is a critic-proof film - it's going to make a lot of money, and that's the case regardless of what anyone says (or even whether it's actually any good, which isn't necessarily the same thing). Still, here we are. And, as I said in my review of the first film, I didn't actually hate the previous effort, with one key exception.

So, what did I think?

Well, there's much less singing by Pierce Brosnan, so that's a major plus. And everyone else ranges from "just about okay", through "fine", to a couple of cases of "quite good, actually". Except Cher, of course, who as a professional is head and shoulders above everyone else - but I'll come back to her.

That said, it's just not as good as the previous film. There are really two reasons for this: firstly, they've already used up Abba's best-known works in the first film, meaning that they had to use a lot of lesser-known pieces here. And, with a few exceptions, there's a reason the lesser-known songs are lesser-known.

Secondly there is the tone of the piece. The first film is an unashamed, unalloyed feel-good movie. It's just fun. The second film opens with death and heartbreak, so it's a bit of a bummer. It's the minor-key rendition to the fun of the first.

That's not to say I hated it - I actually didn't. There are several funny sequences, and the casting of the younger versions of the characters is great. Though it was a bit wierd seeing "Wills" (Hugh Skinner) playing the younger version of Harry.

I do think Cher shouldn't have been in the film. Firstly because, as a professional singer, she served to put all the other performances into context - and not in a good way. And secondly because as soon as she arrived on scene, the whole thing was suddenly about her, her character, and the songs she elected to delight us with. Which was a shame. (There is actually a third reason, but it needs more space to unpack than I have here, and would overshadow the whole of the rest of the post. So I'll leave it, and may or may not address it later, elsewhere.)

And, of course, the film needed more Christine Baranski. That shouldn't be a surprise - almost everything she's in needs more.

So, anyway, it's fine - a reasonably diverting way to spend a couple of hours. I'm not exactly desperate to see it again, but I won't absolutely refuse to watch the inevitable DVD release (as I do with the first). And, yes, I enjoyed it rather more than Tuesday's viewing of "The Last Jedi" - make of that what you will (that said, I enjoy most things more than Tuesday's viewing of TLJ).