‘I Can Only Imagine 2’ Review: Now That He’s a Christian Rock Star, Bart Millard Has More Problems Than Ever. But Is He Only Imagining Them?

On the tour bus, Bart and his buddies, like the band manager, Brick (Trace Adkins), an aging biker with the voice of Sam Elliott, engage in a form of badinage I would characterize as bro Christianity. They’re devout, but they’re just dudes. That’s kind of the point. "I Can Only Imagine 2" isn’t really caught in some Christian niche. It’s as universal a warm bath as a Hallmark Channel movie, and you can decide for yourself if that’s what Jesus had in mind. Home Film Reviews Feb 19, 2026 9:06pm PT ‘I Can Only Imagine 2’ Review: Now That He’s a Christian Rock Star, Bart Millard Has More Problems Than Ever. But Is He Only Imagining Them? The sequel to the 2018 faith-based music biopic has to work a bit to give its hero another crisis of faith. By Owen Gleiberman Plus Icon Owen Gleiberman Chief Film Critic @OwenGleiberman Latest ‘I Can Only Imagine 2’ Review: Now That He’s a Christian Rock Star, Bart Millard Has More Problems Than Ever. But Is He Only Imagining Them? 6 minutes ago ‘How to Make a Killing’ Review: Glen Powell Carries You Through a Screw-Loose Thriller of Money and Murder 2 days ago Remembering Robert Duvall, Whose Acting Brilliance Colored in the Light and Dark Sides of Humanity 3 days ago See All Jake Giles Netter/Lionsgate The movies we call faith-based often take the form of disaster porn. It only makes sense. These movies, framed as tests of faith, are built around a literalization of the spirit of Job and Jesus — the Biblical figures who found transcendence by facing the worst that life could dish out. (That’s how a lot of us find our faith.) “I Can Only Imagine,” the 2018 Christian rock drama that was framed as a biopic of Bart Millard (John Michael Finley), the lead singer of MercyMe, may have been a feel-good parable pegged to one of the biggest Christian pop hits of all time (the title song, which was released in 2001). But it was all about overcoming the darkness — in this case, the fact that Bart was drowning in daddy issues, with a father, played by Dennis Quaid (who lent a veteran great actor’s force to the movie), with violent abusive ways that shadowed Bart. How do you find your faith when your father has taught you to hate yourself? That’s the dilemma “I Can Only Imagine” tapped into, though of course it was also a sentimental disease-of-the-week movie in which the bad dad sees the error of his ways, and the kid becomes a whopping success. In faith-based cinema, the miracles never cease. Related Stories Crime Families, Gold Heists, Interdimensional Doppelgängers Promise Thrills and Chills at Berlinale Series Market German Showcase