I Can Only Imagine 2 appears in an aspect ratio of 2.39:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. This became an appealing presentation.
Overall sharpness seemed solid. A couple of wide shots looked a smidgen soft, but those were the exception to the rule, as the majority of the flick was accurate and detailed.
No issues with jagged edges or shimmering occurred, and I noticed no edge haloes. Source flaws were absent, as the movie looked consistently clean.
Imagine gave us a palette that emphasized the usual teal and orange/amber. Within those parameters, the hues were positive.
Blacks seemed deep and dark, while shadows showed good smoothness and clarity. I felt happy with the transfer.
Downconverted to Dolby TrueHD 7.1, the Dolby Atmos soundtrack of Imagine lacked much to stand out as memorable. I expected that, though, since I wouldn’t anticipate a wild experience from this sort of character drama.
The soundfield focused on the front spectrum, and given the nature of the lead character, music presented the most prominent element. The score showed good stereo imaging, and we got general ambience much of the time.
When the surrounds played a part, they usually added concert reinforcement. Other environmental material broadened horizons but in general, matters stayed subdued.
Audio quality was fine. Speech sounded distinctive and natural, without edginess or other issues.
Effects didn’t have much to do, but they were acceptable for what they offered. Music appeared full and rich. There wasn’t enough here to merit a grade above a “B“, though, but the track suited the project.
When we shift to extras, we find two separate audio commentaries, the first of which comes from musician/producer Bart Millard and musician Tim Timmons. Both sit together for a running, screen-specific look at the ways the movie depicts their lives.
Which means they separate fact from fiction for much of the track. Longtime friends, Timmons and Millard show a good chemistry and they offer an appealing view of the actual events vs. the movie’s liberties.
During the second commentary, we hear from writer/director Brent McCorkle and producer/director Andrew Erwin. Both sit together for their own running, screen-specific discussion of story/characters, cast and performances, sets and locations, music, editing and cut scenes, photography, and related topics.
On the negative side, Erwin and McCorkle offer a little too much praise for the movie’s participants. Nonetheless, they dig into production details pretty well and make this a largely informative chat.
A few featurettes follow, and Making I Can Only Imagine 2 goes for 10 minutes, 19 seconds. It offers info from Erwin, McCorkle, producers Cindy Bond, Bart Millard, Daryl Lefever and Josh Walsh, musician Tim Timmons, and actors John Michael Finley, Milo Ventimiglia, Arielle Kebbel, Sammy Dell, Sophie Skelton, and Trace Adkins.
We find a look at the project's path to the screen, co-directing, story/characters, cast and performances, and shooting at Red Rocks. Most of the production notes already appear in the commentaries so we're left with a lot of happy talk and not much more.
Recording at Abbey Road spans four minutes, 39 seconds and involves Timmon, Millard, musician Sam Wesley and executive producer Scott Brickell as they talk about the songs at the core of the film and a session at the famous London studio. The song-based notes feel superficial and the rest of "Road" tells us even less.
Next comes Joy in the Making, a seven-minute, two second reel in which Erwin, Finley, Bond, McCorkle, Millard, Lefever, Skelton, Dell, Ventimiglia, Adkins, Kebbel, cinematographer Johnny Derango, actor Dennis Quaid and costume designer Anna Redmon talk about how special the film and all involved are. It's as superficial as that description implies.
Finding the Song “Even If” goes for seven minutes, 28 seconds during which Erwin, Bond, Millard, McCorkle, Finley, Ventimiglia, Adkins, Kebbel, Quaid and Timmons discuss the movie's evolution and connected areas. We already heard pretty much all of this elsewhere, sometimes literally, as it repeats clips from other featurettes.
Under Early Access Bonus Content (14:33), we get footage that accompanied preview screenings of the film. After an intro from Erwin, Timmons and Millard, we hear from Christian streaming platform QAVA director of content Shannon Scott and pastor/QAVA teacher Tony Calabrese as they promote their work.
We then hear more from Erwin, Timmons and Millard about sessions in London. Finally, we get info about Lipscomb University with its dean Mike Fernandez, president Candice McQueen and its filmmaker in residence Steve Taylor.
Boy, if I'd paid to see a preview of the movie and got stuck with this nonsense for 14:33, I'd be unhappy. The vast majority of that time just provides ads for QAVA and Lipscomb - really blatant ads at that.
Along with the movie’s trailer, we get eight Deleted Scenes (28:03). That running time includes intros from McCorkle and Erwin.
To my surprise, many of the cut sequences offer actual substance and might’ve made the final film better fleshed-out. McCorkle and Erwin tell us about the clips and why they didn’t make the final product.
Though based on a true story, I Can Only Imagine 2 feels utterly contrived and stilted. The characters never seem like real humans and the movie becomes much more concerned with ‘meaningful monologues’ than a compelling story or interesting roles. The Blu-ray brings very good picture and audio along with a roster of supplements. This winds up as a clumsy and awkward inspirational tale.
