I Can Only Imagine 2
I Can Only Imagine 2
Starring John Michael Finley, Milo Ventimiglia, Sammy Dell, Trace Adkins
Directed by Andrew Erwin & Brent McCorkle
After the success of "I Can Only Imagine," MercyMe became a top-billing Christian band, but hasn't had a major hit since. Bart Millard (John Michael Findley) is pressured by the band and his manager Scott Brickell (Trace Adkins) to write another chart topper, but he faces a family emergency when his son is diagnosed with juvenile diabetes and has to take insulin and maintain his blood sugar.
Ten years later, a now-teen Sam Millard (Sammy Dell) isn't checking on his insulin and blood sugar like he should, with Bart serving as an authoritarian to make sure he does. Frustrated, he decides to bring Sam along on tour to keep an eye on him and make sure he's keeping up with his medicine. The band also welcomes Tim Timmons (Milo Ventimiglia), a new Christian artist, to serve as their opening act. Bart is still plagued by writers' block, and Tim brings new energy to the group with his aloof nature, taking Sam under his wing and having him play with him for the opening act. Bart becomes more and more disconnected from Sam, and Tim reveals he's been trying to write a song like "I Can Only Imagine," but can't seem to finish it. When adversity strikes, however, Bart truly learns what it means to be a father, friend, and walking the line between gratitude and grief.
"I Can Only Imagine" worked very well because it wasn't just a Wikipedia-style biopic about a musician that skips over pretty much their entire life and focuses just on their music, or conversely rushes over their whole life and focuses on one traumatic event. It encompassed everything that made Bart Millard write the song, and everything about the movie pointed to it - his relationship with his abusive father at an early age, finding love at a Christian camp, and reconciling with his now-changed father on his deathbed. It showed how he formed MercyMe and finally how he came up with the biggest Christian song of all time. It had a natural flow to it, and really gave breath to Bart's story.
The sequel, however, doesn't follow that same pattern. Instead, it's a trauma dump of a film, where characters one-up each other in the traumatic department. Oh, you're son is a diabetic who doesn't take care of himself and you're struggling with being a good father? Well, I...don't want to insert spoilers but suffice it to say this happens a few times in the movie with different characters. It's almost like they want to one-up the other to prove that they're the one grieving the most. If it wasn't for the film's overarching message of gratitude, grief, and God being in the storm, this would've been a totally depressing movie - however, since this is a faith-based film, those traumas are met with hope and light by the end, giving viewers a light heart and a love for other people.
"I Can Only Imagine 2" falls into the trap of a sequel being bigger and broader, as the movie tries to connect too many different issues into one film. Bart still has PTSD from his father's abuse and is seen when his young son cries that he's hurting him when he gives him his first insulin shot. Sam isn't careful with taking his insulin and checking his blood sugar, leading to obvious consequences. MercyMe needs a new hit and Bart has writer's block. Tim's arrival brings new challenges as well, but also the film's overarching theme with an incomplete song he's been writing called "Even If" (and for those in the Christian community, you know how important this song becomes). The wives deal with family life while the band is on tour. Even the manager has a small side story with a book he wrote. If the movie centered on just a few of these themes it would've worked so much better, as I was moved by a few stories but the others seemed to fall by the wayside rather easily.
While John Michael Finley dominated the first film, he almost takes a backseat here (or, even, the third row). He's still a man of conviction and love for his family, but still struggles with the grief of losing his father after he turned to God after enduring a whole childhood of his abusive ways. His strongest part of the movie actually comes at the beginning, when he learns of Sam's illness and afraid he's not the father he needs to be for him - after that, he loses focus and instead we shift attention to other characters in the movie, which isn't really a bad thing.
Sammy Dell plays the teenage Sam Millard, and he is a spotlight in this movie. He's a conflicted kid who has to go through being Type-1 Diabetic with taking insulin and checking blood sugar, but he rarely does so when his father asks him to. He also has a dream like his father when he was young to be a singer, and seeing that passion play out is truly awe-inspiring. Sammy Dell has an innocence about him that makes him lovable and heartwarming, and you can feel the familial connection between the two actors as well.
Yet the real star of the show is "This is Us" star Milo Ventimiglia, who stars as the real-life Christian singer Tim Timmons, who joins MercyMe on tour for his first outing. He's obsessed with Horatio Spafford's hymn "It Is Well With My Soul" and the circumstances that led to him writing it (which was one of the numerous tear-inducing moments in this movie for me), and wants to write a song like that and like "I Can Only Imagine" - one that will touch millions of lives. He has the chorus and bridge, but can't seem to finish it, and wants Bart's input - but Bart is still dealing with his own demons to really help. Tim is a welcome addition as his goofy nature and free spirit brings the laughs, but there's a sadness underneath that is exposed later on in the film, and shows the power of Tim writing an "X" on his wrist every morning with a Sharpie marker. Ventimiglia steals the movie and our hearts.
Much like with the original, "I Can Only Imagine 2" ends with the band playing the finished song, which feels like a worship service all its own. Combined with a moving story and the power of faith, it's one that the Christian community will embrace, and even non-believers will be moved by it.
The Score: A
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