KANSAS CITY – Two things are quite rare in movie theaters: a sequel that is better than the initial film, and a faith-based movie with the cast, story and execution to live up to its admirable goals. I Can Only Imagine 2, I’m quite pleased to tell you, does both.
I Can Only Image 2 has a rather … un-imaginative title, but it does let us know what we’re in for. It follows up on 2018’s based-on-a-true story, I Can Only Imagine. That film showed contemporary Christian band MercyMe’s lead singer, Bart Millard, and the creation of their mega-hit song, “I Can Only Imagine.” It was and is still an enduring tune of awestruck wonder standing at Heaven’s throne. In the sequel, we catch up with a burnt-out Millard more than a decade later as he wrestles with writer’s block, chases the feeling of being on top of the industry, and being the godly father that he didn’t have as a child. His eldest son struggles with health and communication issues of his own as he joins the band on tour, while fellow musician Tim Timmons is attempting to compose a masterpiece inspired by Horatio Spafford’s “It is Well with My Soul.”
The set up might not be quite as compelling as the first outing, but the cast and their performances are what take this movie from enjoyable to very good.
Millard is once again played by John Michael Finley. He was impressive in the first movie, but he was a touch too old to truly look the part of a younger struggling artist. In the sequel, his role has caught up with his real-life age, and it’s a perfect fit. When Finley gets to flex his dramatic muscle and lay bare his frustrations with his son (Sammy Dell) and struggles to come through for the band, he’s right up there with any actor you can name. It makes you proud to know he’s a Missouri native and the son of Wayne Finley, a member of Heritage Baptist Church in Lebanon. And that’s before he steps up to the microphone and gets to wow you with his voice. It’s no wonder he’s performed at Broadway and London’s West End.
Dennis Quaid reprises his role as Millard’s father in flashbacks, and country singer Trace Adkins also returns as MercyMe’s manager. Quaid is gravelly as ever, and Adkins adds a much-appreciated source of humor to the scripts.
Milo Ventimiglia plays songwriter-with-a-secret Timmons, and his manic and endearing energy threatens to steal the show. Some may know him as Jess from the TV show, Gilmore Girls, and his look and attitude is very different from that role. Every second he’s on screen is a delight.
The script made me laugh out loud several times, and drew a tear or two in its dramatic peaks (some of the plot points no doubt have been highly exaggerated). There’s nothing objectionable for families or children, though Timmons does play a prank on his wife my own bride has warned me I must never imitate, and Millard plays a rather unhygienic prank involving the tour bus restroom and an aggressive application of the bus brakes. While I wish it were just a touch more explicit in its faith themes, it will be easy for viewers to fill in the occasional blanks as they sit back and enjoy their popcorn to a mostly true story of God’s providence and faithfulness.
One can only hope Hollywood can (ahem) imagine ways to bring us more movies like this – whether they’re sequels, based on real life, explicitly Christian or not.
I Can Only Imagine 2 is in theaters now and is rated PG.