Mary Poppins Returns

This is one of the few sequels that is on par with the original. Emily Blunt is fantastic as Mary Poppins, which is a hard feat because Julie Andrews set the bar so high! She is just as good as Julie Andrews. She feels like the same character. I also enjoyed the clever bits of foreshadowing in the film that paid off later. Lin Manuel Miranda is by far the best part of this film! He is so fun to watch! Every scene with him gave me a big grin on my face! And he does a very convincing Cockney, something Dick Van Dyke could not do. (Sorry.) This has all the magic of the original, and the songs, while not as memorable, were still catchy. I was humming a few of the tunes when I left the theater. Will the songs be remembered as fondly and be as timeless as the original? Probably not, but they were still a good attempt. My one negative critique is that some of it did feel like a bit of a retread. Some lines from the original were repeated word for word as if to wink to the camera and say "Hey, remember how much you loved the original?" Overall, it's still an enjoyable flick and definitely a worthy sequel. 

Grade: A-      9/10    4/5 stars