It's hard to imagine that I Can Only Imagine 2 won't appeal to faith-based moviegoers, especially those with an existing love for MercyMe frontman Bart Millard, the band itself, and that quintuple platinum-selling song from 2001 that remains the top-selling Christian single of all-time to this day. 

It's realistic to ask if we really need an encore film about a 53-year-old contemporary Christian lead singer who's far from passed away and who continues performing. A biopic is often reserved for those who've since passed and whose memories linger. 

While one definitely hopes this isn't becoming an I Can Only Imagine franchise, and per the folks behind it this is definitely it as a two-fer, the truth is that Millard has led a compelling life and it's easy to see why life after that initial explosion of success feels tailor-made for further cinematic treatment. 

In I Can Only Imagine, we were introduced to Bart Millard, the charismatic young singer of a new Christian band on the scene with a traumatic past courtesy of his abusive father, the latter played to memorable effect by Dennis Quaid. The film essentially took us through the band's success including the megasuccess of the tune likely to always be known as the band's signature song. Let's be honest. If you've never heard another Christian song in your life, you've likely heard I Can Only Imagine because it was as popular on secular radio as it was on Christian radio.

John Michael Finley, star of such Broadway hits as The Book of Mormon and Les Miz, returns as Millard and is particularly moving when the film gives him an opportunity to sing because boy can this dude sing. He captures Millard's warmth and lightly emotional chimes and makes you understand why this continues to be a band that captivates audiences. 

I Can Only Imagine 2 delves into "What happens next?" What happens after success? After the trauma has seemingly subsided? After marriage? After family? 

Again, the truth is that traumatic experiences never really go away. We move on with life. We heal. Yet, quite often, the impact of trauma lingers in powerful ways and life has a way of giving us joys and sorrows, successes and suffering. 

It should be unsurprising that faith is presented as the answer here. I Can Only Imagine 2 finds Millard now married to Shannon (Sophie Skelton takes over the role from Madeline Carroll), having small children, and Millard's struggle with leaving the family to go on the road given his own traumatic experiences with his own father. 

In other words, success, not even mega-success, has removed that layer of trauma that impacts Millard's every move. It's a good thing that I Can Only Imagine 2 has the guts to say that having faith doesn't make one immune to trauma, though I do wish that co-directors Andrew Erwin and Brent McCorkle had dug a little deeper to tell an even more emotionally resonant story. When Millard's eldest son Sam (Sammy Dell) is diagnosed with juvenile diabetes, Millard's guilt is amplified at the thought of loving amidst Sam's resistance to continuous monitoring and his typical teen angst. 

The film's real winner is Milo Ventimiglia as Tim Timmons, a vibrant, faith-filled, and utterly charming opening act for MercyMe's headlining tour whose grounding in faith is exactly what both Millard and his son Sam need. When the decision is made to take Sam on the road, it could have turned into cheesy cinematic moments. Instead, these moments become the film's most alive thanks to Ventimiglia's ability to tap into a touching honesty. While the dramatic moments begin to feel a bit too constructed, especially since we're leading up to one of the band's next big hits "Even If," this is when the film turns into something special. 

Now then, I've never been quite sold on country crooner Trace Adkins as an actor, however, he's utterly sublime here as the band's manager, Scott "Brick" Brickell. There's something that Adkins brings to this role that is almost indescribable. He owns it and we're better for that. I'm also delighted to see Arielle Kebbel here, an actress I had a chance to interview early in her career during my hometown Heartland International Film Festival. She seems to have largely been an under-the-radar actress, though I can't help but smile every time she shows up on the big screen. 

I Can Only Imagine 2 is really about Millard finding peace with faith, finding peace with family, and ultimately finding peace with himself. It's a film, first and foremost, for fans of MercyMe who are familiar with Millard and who are familiar with Timmons. It's a film that tells a rather simple story, though it tells it well if not particularly deeply. The film's immersion in faith is less preachy and more about what we'd likely call Christian living. The lesson, at least for me, is that faith makes it better and we're better off in community. These are simple lessons, yet they're valuable lessons destined to resonate with faith-based audiences and anyone who started singing "I Can Only Imagine" the minute you saw the words. 

And that's an awful lot of you. Be honest. 

Written by Richard Propes
The Independent Critic