this is directed by ol parker — the original was phyllida lloyd.dance sequences. because it's happening in split time and temporal structures, we get these scenes which mirror each other, so from the point of view of construction of a film, its really good. we have all the old cast back again and some new cast members playing the old cast in their younger incarnations. they're a very, very likeable cast. i mean, lilyjames could charm the birds out of the trees. none of that would matter if the thing didn't have any emotional punch, and it did. about 10—15 minutes in, the sequence where they did i kissed the teacher, i started having just a little cry. just a little quiet cry. and then when pierce brosnan took a very gentle run at a song... because, pierce, god bless him... bless him, he can't sing, can he? we are allowed to say that. you can't sing, you can't dance, but you can still have the time of your life! so then — so here's the big question, what's the greatest abba song ever recorded ? dancing queen! no, wrong. no? i'm right! no, you're not