I enjoy a wide range of movie genres. I don't seek out Christian movies in particular. I knew from the trailer the basic premise of this film, however nothing more. I knew it would be a tear jerker, but it has much more substance and is a good film on its own merits. Good performances, Denis Quaid did a very good job. It's sad that Hollywood would not even take this film seriously because, well I'll digress, someone would take offense or argue about my because opinions and I'm not a keyboard warrior. It's worth seeing in the theater, just take a Kleenex or 12.
319 Reviews
What the Film Doesn't Tell Us About Pop
lavatch6 July 2018
Warning: Spoilers
There is a certain dishonesty about a film biography that leaves out one of the pieces of the puzzle of a man's life. In the case of "I Can Only Imagine," we have a conventional portrait of a wife batterer and a child abuser in the figure of washed up football star Arthur Millard, resulting in years of anguish for his gifted son to try to come to terms with his dad.
But the film does not tell us that Mr. Milliard was seriously injured when he was struck by a diesel truck while working for the Texas highway system. After awakening from an eight-week coma, the man was never the same, due to brain damage. The details about trauma to the temporal lobe and mood changes are touched upon in the bonus track of DVD of "I Can Only Imagine." But that part of the story is left out of the film itself.
The background above is not intended to give the abusive father a free pass. But it does suggest that the film is a whitewash because it chooses not to offer the total picture of the Millard family. There is no doubt that young Bart Millard was a horribly abused child, but one with tremendous resourcefulness and survival skills.
One of those skills was the childlike ability to imagine. The act of fantasizing removed the child from his terrifying environment. But it also sparked his creative energies, leading to accomplished work in sketching and, above all, in the expression of music. The music Bart loved was inspirational. It was also escapist, saving the child's sanity. It also culminated in the blockbuster song that is the title of this film.
The film is also successful in dramatizing the power of forgiveness, as Bart's forgiveness of his dad relieved the debilitating incompleteness of his life. The story was well told and superbly performed by a gifted singer-actor. Another strong character development was the gravel-voiced manager who believed in Bart both as a singer and as a human being.
But the one nagging criticism of this film remains: Why didn't the filmmakers reveal the truth about the father's accident? If Mr. Millard indeed had permanent brain damage, leading to violent behavior, then his transformation through Christianity into the man who could win back the love of his son was even more remarkable.
Were the filmmakers wary that the focus of the film could shift too far afield from the son's hit record to the father's miraculous transformation? As the real Bart Millard observes in a brief sound byte, in the bonus track: "If the Gospel can change that dude, it change anybody."
But the film does not tell us that Mr. Milliard was seriously injured when he was struck by a diesel truck while working for the Texas highway system. After awakening from an eight-week coma, the man was never the same, due to brain damage. The details about trauma to the temporal lobe and mood changes are touched upon in the bonus track of DVD of "I Can Only Imagine." But that part of the story is left out of the film itself.
The background above is not intended to give the abusive father a free pass. But it does suggest that the film is a whitewash because it chooses not to offer the total picture of the Millard family. There is no doubt that young Bart Millard was a horribly abused child, but one with tremendous resourcefulness and survival skills.
One of those skills was the childlike ability to imagine. The act of fantasizing removed the child from his terrifying environment. But it also sparked his creative energies, leading to accomplished work in sketching and, above all, in the expression of music. The music Bart loved was inspirational. It was also escapist, saving the child's sanity. It also culminated in the blockbuster song that is the title of this film.
The film is also successful in dramatizing the power of forgiveness, as Bart's forgiveness of his dad relieved the debilitating incompleteness of his life. The story was well told and superbly performed by a gifted singer-actor. Another strong character development was the gravel-voiced manager who believed in Bart both as a singer and as a human being.
But the one nagging criticism of this film remains: Why didn't the filmmakers reveal the truth about the father's accident? If Mr. Millard indeed had permanent brain damage, leading to violent behavior, then his transformation through Christianity into the man who could win back the love of his son was even more remarkable.
Were the filmmakers wary that the focus of the film could shift too far afield from the son's hit record to the father's miraculous transformation? As the real Bart Millard observes in a brief sound byte, in the bonus track: "If the Gospel can change that dude, it change anybody."
unexpected
jim-3217916 March 2018
I have gone to faith based movies before and always left for the most part unsatisfied. I can tell you this movie is different. You do not have to be Christian to understand and appreciate the story line. The movie is about forgiveness and hope and there is nothing wrong with that. The acting is well done, the story line is easy to follow and i must say there were more then a few times i got dust in my eyes and they watered. The song has touched millions and now the story will to. I heard it once said the song seems to never go away. Well there is a reason it never stops giving and the movie does not disappoint. I highly recommended this film.
A healthy dose of positivity in a seemingly negative world
cricketbat28 December 2018
I Can Only Imagine is a healthy dose of positivity in a seemingly negative world. Its message of love and forgiveness is given in a way that doesn't seem forced or overly cheesy. To be honest, I remember this song being played all the time on the radio, but I had no idea what it was about. I enjoyed seeing the inspiration behind the music.
Never fails to uplift
inthatday15 April 2020
A cheesy start, with an emotional finish
cdn_lass17 March 2018
Warning: Spoilers
Usually I find Christian movies very poorly done, and I would say the first 20 or so minutes fall into that category. Kind of cheesy, with some unbelievable dialogue, and the main actor does not pass at all for a high schooler (even one of the other characters says the beard makes him look 35). However once the movie got into the struggling band storyline, and especially the redemption storyline with the dad, I was hooked. Lots of tearjerker moments, but some good laughs as well. Definitely an enjoyable watch.
Beautiful like the song.
firebird-3683116 January 2021
I had listen to the song many, many, times before watching this movie. Love the song. I didn't have any worries about how this movie was going to turn out. I dont normally give out 10 out of 10 scores but this one is special.
Great acting. Great writing. Too truly believe in this movie you have to have belief in our creator. You have to have a heart. A soul. There is a saying in church. God is good.... All the time.
Great acting. Great writing. Too truly believe in this movie you have to have belief in our creator. You have to have a heart. A soul. There is a saying in church. God is good.... All the time.
Brilliant movie
User998814 July 2019
Misses the mark
cockezville21 April 2018
The movie is an honest attempt to tell this redemption, forgiveness story. The lead has a stellar singing voice and Cloris Leachman has a few comic moments. But the dialogue is weak, and production feels choppy. The father played by Dennis Quaid is underdeveloped and one dimensional but he does his best with the weak script.
Boring Propaganda of Jesus
vlimages9 June 2018
Seen movies like this before. Quaid does a good job. The movie's build up was a let down for a cheap song trying to pass as a masterpiece! Eric Clapton's "Will you know my name" comes to mind and a much better song than this movie has to offer. WOULD NOT RECCOMEND IT unles you are a fanatical christian!
My 1st ever review in 45 years
bethnboj19 March 2018
This movie was so good that I HAD to review it. I have never had any other movie reach so far down into my soul. Truth is far deeper than fiction. This true story will grab ahold of your heart and soul and shake you to the core! Have you ever seen a 6'3" 280 lb giant man sobbing at a movie? I have. And I was sobbing right along with him. You will be SO glad you watched this movie
Actually really inspiring and moving in places.
Hellmant20 April 2018
'I CAN ONLY IMAGINE': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five)
A Christian drama about Bart Millard, the lead singer of the popular Christian band MercyMe, and his relationship with his abusive father, who died when Bart was just 18. The true story inspired the song 'I Can Only Imagine', by MercyMe, which is the most successful Christian radio song ever. The film stars J. Michael Finley (a Broadway actor making his feature film debut), Dennis Quaid, Madeline Carroll, Trace Adkins and Cloris Leachman. It's been a huge surprise hit at the Box Office (making it one of the most successful Christian movies of all time) and it's also received mostly positive review from critics (surprisingly as well). I enjoyed it mostly (surprisingly too).
Bart Millard (Finley) was abused by his father, Arthur (Quaid), since he was very young. His mother left them due to Mr. Millard's abusive anger, and Bart's only true friend was a girl named Shannon (Carroll), who he later married. Bart was always trying to please his dad, but never could; even by becoming a star high school football player like his father was. Then Bart hurt himself doing the sport, and reluctantly turned to music instead; which was something he realized he was very good at, but he knew it would never please his father. Bart finally joined a band, despite this, which later started playing Christian music. When Bart learned his father had reformed due to religion, he wrote the chart topping song about it. This film details that true story.
The movie is actually really inspiring and moving in places. Sure it feels a little cheesy at times too, and I wasn't impressed by the lead actor at all (I think the film would have been so much better with a real actor in the lead). Quaid is fantastic though, and the movie is actually decently written and directed too; which obviously most Christian films aren't. It's also interesting and involving as well, and it never feels overly preachy (to me). I enjoyed it, despite it's poor performance from Finley.
A Christian drama about Bart Millard, the lead singer of the popular Christian band MercyMe, and his relationship with his abusive father, who died when Bart was just 18. The true story inspired the song 'I Can Only Imagine', by MercyMe, which is the most successful Christian radio song ever. The film stars J. Michael Finley (a Broadway actor making his feature film debut), Dennis Quaid, Madeline Carroll, Trace Adkins and Cloris Leachman. It's been a huge surprise hit at the Box Office (making it one of the most successful Christian movies of all time) and it's also received mostly positive review from critics (surprisingly as well). I enjoyed it mostly (surprisingly too).
Bart Millard (Finley) was abused by his father, Arthur (Quaid), since he was very young. His mother left them due to Mr. Millard's abusive anger, and Bart's only true friend was a girl named Shannon (Carroll), who he later married. Bart was always trying to please his dad, but never could; even by becoming a star high school football player like his father was. Then Bart hurt himself doing the sport, and reluctantly turned to music instead; which was something he realized he was very good at, but he knew it would never please his father. Bart finally joined a band, despite this, which later started playing Christian music. When Bart learned his father had reformed due to religion, he wrote the chart topping song about it. This film details that true story.
The movie is actually really inspiring and moving in places. Sure it feels a little cheesy at times too, and I wasn't impressed by the lead actor at all (I think the film would have been so much better with a real actor in the lead). Quaid is fantastic though, and the movie is actually decently written and directed too; which obviously most Christian films aren't. It's also interesting and involving as well, and it never feels overly preachy (to me). I enjoyed it, despite it's poor performance from Finley.
Christian Crap
brushwood-113-42898213 March 2019
Don't bother. Pure propaganda. What a load of rubbish. So obviously pushing the Christian message. I'm an Atheist but watched this movie anyway. The acting was OK. Directing was sub par. Editing average. Message was pure Christian propoganda. If you have half a brain, don't bother.
Oh my freakin hell..... this film is amazing
skpn1236 October 2019
How beautifully told is this fabulous story of redemption, mercy and forgiveness - of taking the journey to find the authentic story that is you......
We see the depth of evil a parent can fall to and the impact on a child - we see a series of life events that lead that child now young adult to go back to his roots and ultimately find the major missing piece of his life - a father's love - I don't see this as a Christian story - I relate to it big time and I am not Christian - it is a story of how to free our souls through acceptance, to unleash everything we were meant to be.
Bravo!
We see the depth of evil a parent can fall to and the impact on a child - we see a series of life events that lead that child now young adult to go back to his roots and ultimately find the major missing piece of his life - a father's love - I don't see this as a Christian story - I relate to it big time and I am not Christian - it is a story of how to free our souls through acceptance, to unleash everything we were meant to be.
Bravo!
A Step Forward for Christian Cinema
truemythmedia14 May 2019
I grew up watching Christian cinema like the Veggie Tales Movies, McGee and Me, Adventures in Odyssey, and, one of my favorites, "Left Behind" (2000). As I matured as a person and a filmgoer, I realized more and more that these films that I was raised on, just because they perpetuated the same morals and worldview I had, were not inherently good films. They were filled with hokey over-the-top acting, and almost all of their messages could be boiled down to one topic: the world is a sinful place, and as Christians, we need to be on our guard. Now, this message in it of itself is not a bad message. It's a good message to preach, but unfortunately that's how the films came off: preachy. This film, while still a little didactic and sure of itself, is two steps ahead of the films I grew up watching. It's not perfect by a long shot, but it's better than most of the Christian films I've seen, and that right there gives me a lot of hope for Christian cinema.
This film knows who its audience is, and it panders to them, but not as much as I've seen other Christian films do. As I said at the top of this review: this is a better Christian film than I'm used to seeing. That being said, this is not the pinnacle of Christian filmmaking. We can do better, and we should do better.
Wonderfully done
shesastargazer16 March 2018
This movie was a fantastic telling of Bart's life and the beginning of MercyMe. Some scenes may be hard to watch because of the violence, but the redemption story that is told is beautiful. Highly recommend seeing this movie. Great acting, wonderful singing, and an amazing story.
Good movie. Shame it's exaggerated.
AndyVanScoyoc4 September 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Dennis Quaid is a stellar actor and I've been a Cloris Leachman fan from way back.
The lead actor playing Bart has an immensely incredible voice.
But as good as this movie is, I'm disappointed that the story is exaggerated.
What was shown in this film wasn't that bad abuse wise (he should have had MY upbringing!) not that I'm saying ANY abuse is acceptable, because it's not, but it just all seems disingenuous. Bart comes off more of a whiner than anything else. His mother didn't even leave him, for Pete's sake! That's a pretty big lie to push in this movie when it didn't even happen.
He's pushy, brash, conceited and self centered.
His redemption is as important as his dad's and that's beautiful, but the film still had too much "Hollywood" in it.
I didn't find it religiously pushy. I see that some are complaining about that, but I honestly didn't see that or even get that feeling...at all.
Give it a watch. It's a good movie. Just remember...it's Hollywood.
The lead actor playing Bart has an immensely incredible voice.
But as good as this movie is, I'm disappointed that the story is exaggerated.
What was shown in this film wasn't that bad abuse wise (he should have had MY upbringing!) not that I'm saying ANY abuse is acceptable, because it's not, but it just all seems disingenuous. Bart comes off more of a whiner than anything else. His mother didn't even leave him, for Pete's sake! That's a pretty big lie to push in this movie when it didn't even happen.
He's pushy, brash, conceited and self centered.
His redemption is as important as his dad's and that's beautiful, but the film still had too much "Hollywood" in it.
I didn't find it religiously pushy. I see that some are complaining about that, but I honestly didn't see that or even get that feeling...at all.
Give it a watch. It's a good movie. Just remember...it's Hollywood.
Funny, interesting, inspiring and powerful
kris-127-90119216 March 2018
"I Can Only Imagine" was a funny, interesting, inspiring, and powerful true-story about the most popular Christian song of all time. It was lighthearted and funny when I needed an emotional break, but the message was strong. If you don't go because it is faith-based, you are missing out. If you grew up in the Amy Grant/Michael W. Smith era like I did...it will be a little nostalgic. Watching the band struggle in the early years reminded me of every kid I knew as a camp counselor at Camp Electric in Nashville. It made me smile. Dennis Quaid was impactful as the abusive father. It had something for everyone. I'll be going back next week with friends.
Worth your time and money!!!
ben-309-43255218 March 2018
Corny
nikkiashlee30 March 2018
My mom liked this movie but overall I was disappointed at how corny it was. The transitions between the scenes were awkward and although it was based on a true story the plot was rather cheesy (too much fluff). I haven't seen many Christian movies but if this is the better of the bunch then that's pretty sad.
Most powerful Movie I Ever Watched
poseye16 March 2018
This movie is so moving and is an absolute must- see. The whole movie theatre was in tears from this touching story. So many messages of forgiveness, hope, inspiration, family, etc are shown, and you are sure to cry. This movie has changed my entire perspective on MercyMe's I Can Only Imagine, and it breathes life into the lyrics of the song. Grab some tissues and friends and go see it now! Your spirit will thank you.
Best of intentions don't always get the job done...
kevinmain-2963528 March 2018
Warning: Spoilers
I CAN ONLY IMAGINE (**1/2)
Directors: Andrew Erwin, Jon Erwin
Writers: Jon Erwin ,Brent McCorkle
Story by Alex Cramer
Stars: Dennis Quaid (Arthur)
J. Michael Finley (Bart)
Brody Rose (Young Bart)
Trace Adkins (Brickell)
Madeline Carroll (Shannon)
First things first... Why oh why do they put a guitar in the hands of an actor who has never played the instrument? I am talking to you Nicole DuPort (Amy Grant in the movie). From what I could see she knows one chord...if it is an actual chord.
Second things second... if you see the movie, please confirm my thinking: That is not 1080 on an AM dial.
This one is weighed down by bad writing, bad direction and bad taste. The credits list The Erwin Brothers as directors. I think there is a big difference in their choices. It feels like 2 people (maybe more) are directing. Every 10-15 minutes, you start thinking, "Huh?". Whether it is something someone says in response to another character or how they edit the film. And that's too bad.
The movie gives you the backstory of the song "I Can Only Imagine" by MercyMe which was penned by their lead vocalist, Bart Millard. As the movie begins he says he wrote the song in about 20 minutes but a woman with whom he is speaking tells him it has taken his whole life. Enter the artist as a young man. Not surprisingly, in the backstory, dad is abusive and mom gets the hell out of Dodge. This leaves young Bart to fend for himself. He tries to fulfill his father's football dreams but gets injured. Then he finds his voice, literally, in the high school production of Oklahoma!. After he graduates he breaks free to pursue his dream of music. Along the way he has an off/on relationship with a young woman, Shannon.
All of the gigs and the traveling in their own bus, leads MercyMe to what should be their big break in Nashville. It is a showcase with executives from different record labels. There is Bart (now J. Michael Finley), telling the crowd how everything is led up to this moment. BUT, the movie cuts to the band waiting backstage to see if they will get a record deal before he can sing one note. For a movie about a band, there is very little music. At one earlier concert Bart announces the band has written a new song themselves. You hear maybe 45 seconds of it. Baffling.
However, the filmmakers cannot fault the actors. Dennis Quaid (Arthur) is working up there on screen and I think he is working alone. It looks as if the directors decided to leave him alone and let him do what he knows how to do. But this approach does not do them any favors with working with the other actors, especially the younger ones or most notably Trace Adkins. Brody Rose (Young Bart) is up to the challenge but the directors can't seem to help his performance. The scenes between him and a young Shannon (Taegen Burns) seem rushed. But here's hoping J. Michael Finley can make his way forward to better projects. In the scenes where Bart is overwhelmed, by the stars he meets (Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith) or by his own feelings for his father, Mr. Finley gets the job done..
All the elements to inspire the audience are there. However, the filmmakers seem unsure of themselves or they have not developed their own sense of taste and style to really pull this off. Last example, when the father (Dennis Quaid) is in the hospital, Bart and Shannon are there having made their way there after Bart's performance in the high school musical. Shannon has the sense something is very wrong with the father. She approaches the doctor to ask about him. The doctor, correctly, asks if she is family. Shannon says she is not. The doctor tells her she can't tell her anything. "Huh?" How else was that supposed to go? And that is the overwhelming feeling from this one. It goes along and then you have to ask yourself, "Huh?"
But at least they were aiming up.
First things first... Why oh why do they put a guitar in the hands of an actor who has never played the instrument? I am talking to you Nicole DuPort (Amy Grant in the movie). From what I could see she knows one chord...if it is an actual chord.
Second things second... if you see the movie, please confirm my thinking: That is not 1080 on an AM dial.
This one is weighed down by bad writing, bad direction and bad taste. The credits list The Erwin Brothers as directors. I think there is a big difference in their choices. It feels like 2 people (maybe more) are directing. Every 10-15 minutes, you start thinking, "Huh?". Whether it is something someone says in response to another character or how they edit the film. And that's too bad.
The movie gives you the backstory of the song "I Can Only Imagine" by MercyMe which was penned by their lead vocalist, Bart Millard. As the movie begins he says he wrote the song in about 20 minutes but a woman with whom he is speaking tells him it has taken his whole life. Enter the artist as a young man. Not surprisingly, in the backstory, dad is abusive and mom gets the hell out of Dodge. This leaves young Bart to fend for himself. He tries to fulfill his father's football dreams but gets injured. Then he finds his voice, literally, in the high school production of Oklahoma!. After he graduates he breaks free to pursue his dream of music. Along the way he has an off/on relationship with a young woman, Shannon.
All of the gigs and the traveling in their own bus, leads MercyMe to what should be their big break in Nashville. It is a showcase with executives from different record labels. There is Bart (now J. Michael Finley), telling the crowd how everything is led up to this moment. BUT, the movie cuts to the band waiting backstage to see if they will get a record deal before he can sing one note. For a movie about a band, there is very little music. At one earlier concert Bart announces the band has written a new song themselves. You hear maybe 45 seconds of it. Baffling.
However, the filmmakers cannot fault the actors. Dennis Quaid (Arthur) is working up there on screen and I think he is working alone. It looks as if the directors decided to leave him alone and let him do what he knows how to do. But this approach does not do them any favors with working with the other actors, especially the younger ones or most notably Trace Adkins. Brody Rose (Young Bart) is up to the challenge but the directors can't seem to help his performance. The scenes between him and a young Shannon (Taegen Burns) seem rushed. But here's hoping J. Michael Finley can make his way forward to better projects. In the scenes where Bart is overwhelmed, by the stars he meets (Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith) or by his own feelings for his father, Mr. Finley gets the job done..
All the elements to inspire the audience are there. However, the filmmakers seem unsure of themselves or they have not developed their own sense of taste and style to really pull this off. Last example, when the father (Dennis Quaid) is in the hospital, Bart and Shannon are there having made their way there after Bart's performance in the high school musical. Shannon has the sense something is very wrong with the father. She approaches the doctor to ask about him. The doctor, correctly, asks if she is family. Shannon says she is not. The doctor tells her she can't tell her anything. "Huh?" How else was that supposed to go? And that is the overwhelming feeling from this one. It goes along and then you have to ask yourself, "Huh?"
But at least they were aiming up.
A Failure to Imagine
CulvertonSmith25 March 2018
Not every story is worth adapting for film. Judging this as what it is, a movie, there's nothing special. I can't point to even one unique thing in this movie, the whole thing feels very uninspired. To enjoy this movie I would have to be at a point in my life where I had seen very few movies. That is something which I consider to be problem.
The writing is by far the weakest point. My research tells me that this story was not bound by the truth, but rather that the facts were cast aside for the sake of meaningless, manufactured drama. Even if everything in this movie did actually happen as told, which it did not, then it was a bad idea to make this story a film for others to experience. Too many clichés happen in this movie to list them all, an absolute annihilation of lazy storytelling. Let's say, purely for the sake of argument, that this movie did actually happen as told, in that case it was a bad idea to translate this story to the big screen. The reason being that it comes across as bad storytelling, which makes it unfit for adaptation. Either way, it just doesn't work.
The performances are absolutely fine, never good enough to make me care about the characters. Although in fairness I would attribute that more to the writing then the actors, who did just fine for what they were given. Nobody stands out as good, or even bad for that matter.
The cinematography and directing in this movie is so unbelievably, perfectly average. While nothing stands out as good or inspired, nothing ever stands out as bad, thus helping the movie to feel extremely uninspired. While the cinematography and directing in this movie were serviceable, the lack of originality ultimately helped to make the movie feel even more bland.
There were frequent attempts at humor in this movie, which failed as often as they arose. Their attempts feel very worn out, and extremely childish. It was such an embarrassing attempt, as though no thought or effort was put into it.
In this movie they build so much hype surrounding this one song, that by the time I finally heard it, I felt disappointed. The song was perfectly fine, it wasn't bad, it wasn't great, it was perfectly fine. If you have already heard the song before then this probably will not be so glaring to you. I can't hold this against the film though, considering precisely how subjective music is, I won't dock the movie points for that.
On top of all I just mentioned, this movie bored me. It even bored me so much that it put me to sleep for five to ten minutes. Now I wouldn't have fallen asleep had it not been late at night, but a good movie would have kept me awake. I've been there, it's late at night and I'm getting tired, but the movie or show that I'm watching is so good that it keeps me awake, because I'm so invested in it. This didn't even come close to doing that, it put me right to sleep. I've literally never fallen asleep in a theatre before, until this one. I actually believe I would have had a better experience had I been asleep for the whole movie, but unfortunately I saw over 90% of it.
To anybody that says this movie was made for Christians, and should not be judged by anyone else, I strongly disagree. If you need to belong to a certain group of people to enjoy a movie, then that movie has failed. Movies should be transcendent, and being nonreligious as I am, this movie wasn't. Even taken out of its religious context, it fails just as a film. While this movie never actually annoyed me, I have to call it on its faults. This movie fails to bring anything good to the table, while reusing overused clichés and story elements to a point of unshocking blandness. If you haven't seen any movies before, maybe the problems won't stand out to you, maybe it'll even come across as original. But if you have ever seen a film in your lifetime, this comes across utterly meaningless. Don't waste two hours of your life that you'll end up quickly forgetting about, your time means more than this.
The writing is by far the weakest point. My research tells me that this story was not bound by the truth, but rather that the facts were cast aside for the sake of meaningless, manufactured drama. Even if everything in this movie did actually happen as told, which it did not, then it was a bad idea to make this story a film for others to experience. Too many clichés happen in this movie to list them all, an absolute annihilation of lazy storytelling. Let's say, purely for the sake of argument, that this movie did actually happen as told, in that case it was a bad idea to translate this story to the big screen. The reason being that it comes across as bad storytelling, which makes it unfit for adaptation. Either way, it just doesn't work.
The performances are absolutely fine, never good enough to make me care about the characters. Although in fairness I would attribute that more to the writing then the actors, who did just fine for what they were given. Nobody stands out as good, or even bad for that matter.
The cinematography and directing in this movie is so unbelievably, perfectly average. While nothing stands out as good or inspired, nothing ever stands out as bad, thus helping the movie to feel extremely uninspired. While the cinematography and directing in this movie were serviceable, the lack of originality ultimately helped to make the movie feel even more bland.
There were frequent attempts at humor in this movie, which failed as often as they arose. Their attempts feel very worn out, and extremely childish. It was such an embarrassing attempt, as though no thought or effort was put into it.
In this movie they build so much hype surrounding this one song, that by the time I finally heard it, I felt disappointed. The song was perfectly fine, it wasn't bad, it wasn't great, it was perfectly fine. If you have already heard the song before then this probably will not be so glaring to you. I can't hold this against the film though, considering precisely how subjective music is, I won't dock the movie points for that.
On top of all I just mentioned, this movie bored me. It even bored me so much that it put me to sleep for five to ten minutes. Now I wouldn't have fallen asleep had it not been late at night, but a good movie would have kept me awake. I've been there, it's late at night and I'm getting tired, but the movie or show that I'm watching is so good that it keeps me awake, because I'm so invested in it. This didn't even come close to doing that, it put me right to sleep. I've literally never fallen asleep in a theatre before, until this one. I actually believe I would have had a better experience had I been asleep for the whole movie, but unfortunately I saw over 90% of it.
To anybody that says this movie was made for Christians, and should not be judged by anyone else, I strongly disagree. If you need to belong to a certain group of people to enjoy a movie, then that movie has failed. Movies should be transcendent, and being nonreligious as I am, this movie wasn't. Even taken out of its religious context, it fails just as a film. While this movie never actually annoyed me, I have to call it on its faults. This movie fails to bring anything good to the table, while reusing overused clichés and story elements to a point of unshocking blandness. If you haven't seen any movies before, maybe the problems won't stand out to you, maybe it'll even come across as original. But if you have ever seen a film in your lifetime, this comes across utterly meaningless. Don't waste two hours of your life that you'll end up quickly forgetting about, your time means more than this.
New outlook on song
shadnife16 March 2018
I have listened to the song I Can Only Imagine probably thousands of times and after watching this it gave me a new understanding of forgiveness. I am going to be honest here and say I was in tears throughout this movie. This is definitely a must see and bring a tissue or two.
The Beauty of Jesus
jsschic2222 March 2018
I thought the movie itself was so-so. However, the story and the meaning behind it was beautiful. Continually throughout the movie I was reminded of God's grace and just how powerful the gospel is. I can only hope that there are people who go to watch this who are needing hope, because they will most certainly find it in the message here!
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