Mamma Mia 2- Here We Go Again.

Mamma Mia 2- Here We Go Again.

It could hardly have gone any better. Film sequels can often be either a huge let down or just too incredible for words. In the trailers before Mamma Mia 2- Here we go again, the man reminded us that going to the cinema to watch the latest movie is the ultimate in escapism. He certainly wasn't wrong because this film did everything it said on the tin and much more. If we were in any doubts about its sheer cinematic brilliance then they were swiftly blown away and never to be seen again.

After their sheer superlative magic of the first Mamma Mia most of us had prepared us for yet another spectacular party on the screen. Mamma Mia 2- Here we go again was quite the most exquisitely entertaining, hugely enjoyable, delightfully simple story told with love and utter sincerity. There were no airs or graces, no affected sense of pretence or bombast just good, old fashioned fun, genuine comedy and gloriously marshmallow sweet frivolity. There were smiles, jokes, hilarity and outrageous silliness but Mamma Mia was the one reason why most of us went to the movies in the first place as kids.

Mamma Mia was a fairground ride, a helter skelter, giggling, chuckling, side splittingly funny film with all the right messages and moral values you'd expect from a family film. It had happiness, laughter, sadness, pathos, triumph and disappointment- all in one giant package of movie classicism about it. It had heartbreak, tears, trembling lips, declarations of love, anger and the kind of joyful collective dancing you  probably only see at weddings and bar and bat mitzvahs. It was utterly brilliant and transcended everything that the film experience had to offer.

From its astonishing opening sequence to the very last moments of christening bliss and happy ever after, Mamma Mia 2- Here we go again didn't stop for a single moment, never even remotely suggesting that it would ever come up for air or fail to go any further than it had already had. Sometimes you can have too much of a good thing but none of us were in any way spoilt by the sorcery of the silver screen.

 By the end some of us were just mesmerised by the sumptuousness of it all, the tug and war family relationships, the kissing and making up, the petty arguments and then there was  relief when agreement and reconciliation had finally won the day. It was the underlying theme of victory against all the odds that provoked many of us into belly aching laughter. We cried, we wept and then we just gave up any other kind of emotion because we knew we'd witnessed one of those beautifully designed films that are somehow uniquely untouchable in their perfection.

In the opening scene of the film we were treated to quite the most magnificent piece of film making ever conceived or executed. Set in a university and a graduation ceremony, the successful academics burst into a diaphragm bursting song that was straight from the 1980s blockbuster movie 'Fame'. The only difference here was that there were no teenagers jumping and dancing over yellow New York taxis. But what we did get was a stunning set that had to be seen to be believed.

Suddenly we were treated to Abba's classic 'When I Kissed the Teacher' which was an instant cue for wild dancing, the complete abandonment of caps and gowns and a fantastic singing, cavorting and carousing spectacle.  Both the caps and gowns were now flung into the air, students joking, crazily running up and down a hall before flopping to the floor with utter exhaustion.

There followed quite the most amazing film, a carnival of real human emotions, a rich pageant of wonderfully drawn characters and household names who were determined to have the time of their lives. Little could we have known after the first Mamma Mia that another one was being cooked, boiled and gently nurtured before being delivered like a mouth watering meal in a top class restaurant.

Once again there was the glorious Julie Waters, undoubtedly one of the great comic geniuses of our time and after her debut Mamma Mia, still producing diamonds, emeralds and rubies in every moment of this film. There were the distinctive gestures, the unmistakable comedy mannerisms and that sense of star and stage struck wonder when you couldn't help but scream out with amusement. Walters was simply delightful, a force of nature and permanently up for a grandstanding, boogie woogie dance.

Of course we had, in no particular order, Amanda Seyfried as the sweet and winsome Sophie, the girl whose heart had been broken and then seemingly repaired only to be fixed again by another man. Seyfried captures all of those bottled up feelings that have to be expressed when she finds the man she thought she could rely on only to find that he's two timed her quite brazenly. Sophie is a fragile and vulnerable soul, pleading for love, romance and then marriage, relentless in her pursuit of her man. Perhaps we've seen this romcom a million times without realising what we were witnessing.

But how could we not mention the three men, the three fathers who claimed to be Sophie's dad or so it seemed. There was the outstanding Piers Brosnan, very much the alpha male, macho, strong, suave, debonair, masculine and dependable. Brosnan was all smart suits and shirts, a dependably fatherly and paternal figure who Sophie could always talk to and confide in.

How could we ever forget Colin Firth who at the beginning of the film is seen at a highly important business meeting falling asleep and wondering how he can escape from this Far East summit without humiliating anybody? Firth is straightforwardly English, assured, diplomatic, bluffly humorous and ultra confident in his handling of family issues. Pride and Prejudice must have seemed like a a long time ago.

Then there was Swedish star Stellan Skarsgard, always smooth and splendidly understated throughout with his memorable choice of beach shirts and casual jackets. Skarsgard was another one of Sophie's alleged dads and the character of Bill Austin that Skarsgard gave us was perfectly pitched, veering from deeply compassionate to more jokey comments.

We marvelled at the snobbish haughtiness of Christine Baranski, sunglasses swaying from side to side and an air of judgmental disapproval in her every walk. Alexa Davies was full of cutesy girlishness and flirtatious in the extreme. Hugh Skinner was Harry Bright, a character convinced that he'd fallen head over heels in love with his sketchy command of French and then Lily James was Donna, dizzy headed, ambitious and, rather like Sophie and Rosie, stubbornly independent.

Andy Garcia of course is one of those experienced veterans of the cinema who always lends an air of authority to any film. Garcia is now grey bearded and ageing impeccably but here in Mamma 2- Here We Go Again Garcia was amusing without bringing the house down with a comic masterclass.

Half way through the film there came that classic moment we'd all been waiting for. In the blink of an eye lid she stood proudly at the top of some winding steps. This woman had seen everything that pop stardom during the 1960s could ever give us. She was part of a legendary boy and girl partnership  singing her way effortlessly into the legendary Hall of Fame. She had thick black hair, wore beads and bangles and sung 'I've Got You Babe' with Sonny in a phenomenal, chart busting record.

Her name was Cher. Cher, since the unfortunate death of Sonny, has since undergone reinvention and pop music resurrection.  With her excellent version of Abba's Fernando, Cher sung with all the note perfect poise of a woman much younger than her age. Now in her 70s Cher can still sing like an angel, moulding an old Abba song to her requirements and then belting out it like a blackbird in morning song.

And finally there was the Abba songbook in all its musical splendour. There was the majestic boat disco dance collective of 'Dancing Queen' which after its first airing in the first Mamma Mia, did the trick again supremely well. 'Dancing Queen' must have been played on every retro music radio station around the world so many times that some of us may have memorised every lyric since time immemorial.

Waterloo of course was the one that launched Abba to star spangled prominence in the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest. Waterloo was featured yet again in Mamma Mia - Here We Go Again and it was as if Waterloo had never really been about a battle. It was singalong, easy listening and vibrantly uplifting to your soul. Waterloo rocked from side to side like a boat about to drop anchor.

'I Have A Dream' was tenderly touching and romantically reflective, a song about genuine dreams and visions of the future. 'Knowing Me, Knowing You' was that painful time in the illustrious career of Abba's finest years when everything went terribly wrong. The husbands and wives split, the sense of identity had gone and the accusations began to fly. 'Angel Eyes', by contrast, represented just how close the group had grown to each other and thought butter wouldn't have melted in each other's mouths.

When 'Name of the Game' explored another set of relationship issues and dynamics in the group's career learning curve, we had to sigh once again because that's the way things pan out at times. We can never turn the clock back because we'd only find ourselves in a permanent world of deep reflection, regretting on what might have been but then re-assuring ourselves that it was all for the good.

It is time now for a final recommendation for Mamma Mia 2- Here We Go Again. If you like your films with a dazzling touch of tongue in cheek, feelgood vibes and then a glowing pleasure in every bone in your body then this is the film for you. Besides, the cinema has always been our friend, in many ways an extension of our family and above all, a throwback to those childhood days when Saturday mornings had a very special significance. Pass me the popcorn please.