Sydney R

SO disappointing. When the first movie came out, it was one of the first movies I sat through in the theatre as a kid, I loved it so much I saw it 4 times in the movie theatre. So when I heard they were making a sequel to what was probably the biggest film of my childhood I was excited and happy about it. Until I actually started watching it. If you don’t have a huge attachment to the first one and just want to see great songs, performances, and acting— it is good. Lily James did a wonderful job of playing Donna and as always the songs were well done and nicely performed. If you’re like me and cared about the first movie, the characters, and the plot line— it’s a total flop. Killing Donna off for no reason was the biggest mistake, without even any explanation beyond a few minutes of sadness. It was depressing to see that, honestly. If this was a dramatic movie to begin with I could understand it— but this was meant to be a light hearted musical comedy and this totally ruined the mood, almost like they were trying too hard to make it emotional. They could’ve conveyed all of the same themes and even the same scenes with Donna still alive. She could’ve retired and left the business to Sophie or Sophie’s pregnancy could’ve made her nostalgic for her own experiences. The absence of such a vital character set the tone for the entire movie. Aside from that, the whole movie seemed to be anti-climatic. There doesn’t seem to be any real explanation to what made Sky give up his job in NYC, he had 10 minutes at the beginning and then basically reappeared at the end all of a sudden with everything happy. I can’t really point out what the real climax of the movie was, there doesn’t seem to be any defining moment. Also, there are a plethora of plot holes that anyone who enjoyed the first movie would notice. From the reason she came into the island, how she met all three of Sophie’s dads, or their backstories/fashion/and personalities, all are untrue to the original movie. Then you have Cher, a brilliant actress and singer who came in only at the last 20 minutes maybe? Her presence in the movie was played up during all of the promotions yet there’s no clear reason why she’s even there. She serves no purpose other than a name drop to attract people to the movie. This movie could’ve been wonderful, entertaining, and funny, instead, it honestly probably shouldn’t have even been made the way it was which is a shame because there was more than enough potential to work with.