{"id":2338025,"date":"2026-03-20T03:44:05","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T03:44:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2338025"},"modified":"2026-03-20T03:44:05","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T03:44:05","slug":"the-movie-guru-i-can-only-imagine-2-disappointing-while-the-wrecking-crew-crazy-action-fun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/the-movie-guru-i-can-only-imagine-2-disappointing-while-the-wrecking-crew-crazy-action-fun\/","title":{"rendered":"The Movie Guru: \u2018I Can Only Imagine 2\u2019 disappointing, while \u2018The Wrecking Crew\u2019 crazy action fun"},"content":{"rendered":"<br><div>\n<p>\u2018<strong>I Can Only Imagine 2\u2032 (in theaters)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can always tell when a sequel exists just to make money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That\u2019s definitely the case with \u201cI Can Only Imagine 2,\u201d the sequel to 2018\u2019s surprise Christian hit. Not only does the sequel struggle to find its own story to tell, but it cheapens the ending of the original movie by repeatedly going over already resolved ground. We already saw musician Bart Millard (J. Michael Finley) make peace with his abusive father, but in the sequel it\u2019s all he can think about. The sheer amount of flashbacks alone are exhausting.<\/p>\n<hr\/><hr\/>\n\n\n<p>Worse, it tries to draw parallels between Millard\u2019s abusive father and Millard\u2019s far more innocent parental missteps in a way that borders on offensive. Yes, trauma isn\u2019t worked through as easily as it is in the movies, but this isn\u2019t framed in a healing way. It\u2019s just there for drama, and it leaves a sour taste in the story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The movie tries to bring in something new by introducing Millard\u2019s collaborator, Tim Timmons (Milo Ventimiglia). Ventimiglia is a charming performer, and he provides some of the movie\u2019s lightest and most entertaining moments. He also has a conveniently packaged tragedy designed to tug at the heartstrings, with timing far more convenient than happened in real life.<\/p>\n<div class=\"row\"><div class=\"col\">\n<div class=\"d-none\">\n<div class=\"row vail-donation vail-donation-mobile p-0\" style=\"\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div style=\"background:#1061ae\" class=\"col-xl-4 p-2\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div style=\"background-image: url('https:\/\/swiftmedia.s3.amazonaws.com\/mountain.swiftcom.com\/images\/sites\/7\/2020\/03\/30232534\/VD-logo-white.png');background-size: contain;background-position: center;background-repeat: no-repeat;\" class=\"p-0 mt-2 mb-2 h-75 text-center\"><\/div><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>&#13;\n<h3 class=\"d-inline mr-3\" style=\"color: #fff; vertical-align: middle\">Support Local Journalism<\/h3><button class=\"btn d-inline\" type=\"button\" onclick=\"handleDonationButtonClickMidArticle()\">Donate<\/button>&#13;\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<br\/><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><hr\/><hr\/>\n\n\n<p>Still, he\u2019s only a supporting player in what proves to be a disappointing story. Even if you\u2019re a fan of Millard, or the music of MercyMe (Millard\u2019s band), it\u2019ll be tough to feel any of the inspiration you probably get listening to their music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI Can Only Imagine\u201d was a powerful, inspiring movie. It\u2019s sequel, unfortunately, is best forgotten.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Grade: One and a half stars<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2018<strong>The Wrecking Crew\u2019 (Prime)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sometimes it\u2019s good when a movie knows exactly what it is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe Wrecking Crew,\u201d starring Dave Bautista and Jason Momoa, has one very clear goal \u2014 cause as much action movie mayhem as possible. The car chases are dramatic, the fight scenes are detailed, the women are awesome, the men are tough, and the quips are plentiful. I\u2019m not sure how effective the emotional subplot is, but that doesn\u2019t really matter when Bautista and Momoa work so well together. It doesn\u2019t really matter why they\u2019re beating up the bad guys together \u2014 you just want to see it happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you do care about the plot, it features Bautista and Momoa as estranged half-brothers who get sucked into their dead father\u2019s last case. This involves a lot of fighting, shooting, explosions, a random helicopter and a kidnapping that happens solely to set up the glorious rescue that follows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The movie probably owes an apology to Hawaii, since it makes Honolulu seem as seedy and dangerous as some of the darker cinematic versions of New York. It also makes it look very pretty, but since that\u2019s not hard I doubt it\u2019s enough of an apology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The cast is great, with Bautista and Momoa having a fun onscreen chemistry together. Morena Baccarin, Roimata Fox, and Frankie Adams are all absolutely fantastic, delivering some of the movie\u2019s best lines. Jacob Batalon isn\u2019t bad, but he has some trouble standing up to the stronger personalities surrounding him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Still, it\u2019s a small blip in a sea of otherwise glorious mayhem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Grade: Three stars<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Jenniffer Wardell is an award-winning movie critic and member of the Denver Film Critics Society and the Utah Film Critics Association. Drop her a line at <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vaildaily.com\/entertainment\/the-movie-guru-i-can-only-imagine-2-disappointing-while-the-wrecking-crew-crazy-action-fun\/mailto:themovieguruslc@gmail.com\" target=\"_blank\">themovieguruslc@gmail.com<\/a><svg class=\"svg-icon\"><use class=\"fa-external-link-alt\" xlink:href=\"#fa-external-link-alt\"\/><\/svg>.<\/h3>\n<\/div><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n  document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', function() {\r\n    !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\r\n    {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\r\n      n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\r\n      if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\r\n      n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\r\n      t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\r\n      s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,'script',\r\n      'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\r\n      fbq('init', '664946818073934');\r\n      fbq('track', 'PageView');\r\n  });\r\n<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\r\n    {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\r\n    n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\r\n    if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\r\n    n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\r\n    t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\r\n    s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,'script',\r\n    'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\r\n    fbq('init', '882545006648732');\r\n    fbq('track', 'PageView');\r\n    <\/script><script>\n\t\t\t!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s){if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n\t\t\tn.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;\n\t\t\tn.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n\t\t\tt.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window,\n\t\t\tdocument,'script','https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n\t\t\t\/\/ Insert Your Facebook Pixel ID below.\n\t\t\tfbq('init', '356889104458573');\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tfbq('track', 'PageView');\n\t\t\t<\/script><script>(function(d, s, id) {\n\t\t\t  var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];\n\t\t\t  if (d.getElementById(id)) return;\n\t\t\t  js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;\n\t\t\t  js.src=\"https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v3.2&appId=306532666136106&autoLogAppEvents=1\";\n\t\t\t  fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);\n\t\t\t}(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));\n\t\t\t<\/script>\r\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\r\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.vaildaily.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p><!-- \/wp:post-content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u2018I Can Only Imagine 2\u2032 (in theaters) You can always tell when a sequel exists just to make money. That\u2019s definitely the case with \u201cI Can Only Imagine 2,\u201d the sequel to 2018\u2019s surprise Christian hit. Not only does the sequel struggle to find its own story to tell, but it cheapens the ending of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1958237,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2338025","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Murray-The-beauty-of-shared-connection-through-music.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2338025","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2338025"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2338025\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2338026,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2338025\/revisions\/2338026"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1958237"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2338025"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2338025"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2338025"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}