The biggest risk was recasting the iconic Meryl Streep. While Streep appears in a brief, devastating cameo, the film wisely pivots to Lily James. The gamble pays off spectacularly. James doesn’t imitate Streep; she embodies the idea of a young Donna—reckless, vulnerable, and fiercely independent. Her rendition of “Andante, Andante” is so softly sensual it feels like a secret, and her solo version of “My Love, My Life” is a masterclass in musical acting.

The past timeline works because it’s not a comedy. It’s a romance that knows it is destined to fail. Watching young Donna fall for Sam, knowing that he eventually betrays her by returning to his fiancée, gives every sunny duet a shadow of future pain.

You hate ABBA, you despise deus ex machina plot devices, or you have a low tolerance for Pierce Brosnan’s singing voice.

A Sun-Drenched Soap Opera: Why Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again Outshines the Original

Fans of the original, anyone grieving a parent, and people who believe that every problem can be solved with a choreographed dance number on a Greek pier.