‘I Can Only Imagine 2′ (in theaters)
You can always tell when a sequel exists just to make money.
That’s definitely the case with “I Can Only Imagine 2,” the sequel to 2018’s 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’s all he can think about. The sheer amount of flashbacks alone are exhausting.
Worse, it tries to draw parallels between Millard’s abusive father and Millard’s far more innocent parental missteps in a way that borders on offensive. Yes, trauma isn’t worked through as easily as it is in the movies, but this isn’t framed in a healing way. It’s just there for drama, and it leaves a sour taste in the story.
The movie tries to bring in something new by introducing Millard’s collaborator, Tim Timmons (Milo Ventimiglia). Ventimiglia is a charming performer, and he provides some of the movie’s 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.
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Still, he’s only a supporting player in what proves to be a disappointing story. Even if you’re a fan of Millard, or the music of MercyMe (Millard’s band), it’ll be tough to feel any of the inspiration you probably get listening to their music.
“I Can Only Imagine” was a powerful, inspiring movie. It’s sequel, unfortunately, is best forgotten.
Grade: One and a half stars
‘The Wrecking Crew’ (Prime)
Sometimes it’s good when a movie knows exactly what it is.
“The Wrecking Crew,” starring Dave Bautista and Jason Momoa, has one very clear goal — 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’m not sure how effective the emotional subplot is, but that doesn’t really matter when Bautista and Momoa work so well together. It doesn’t really matter why they’re beating up the bad guys together — you just want to see it happen.
If you do care about the plot, it features Bautista and Momoa as estranged half-brothers who get sucked into their dead father’s 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.
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’s not hard I doubt it’s enough of an apology.
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’s best lines. Jacob Batalon isn’t bad, but he has some trouble standing up to the stronger personalities surrounding him.
Still, it’s a small blip in a sea of otherwise glorious mayhem.
Grade: Three stars
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 themovieguruslc@gmail.com.
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