Publication Date: 04-08-2026

A Great Awakening (2026) review

Dir. Joshua Enck

By: Steve Pulaski

Rating: ★★

During the pandemic, for reasons I can’t recall other than probably falling down another rabbit-hole of Wikipedia overload, I found myself reading a great deal of Benjamin Franklin’s letters and essays. How many? Enough to make him my favorite Founding Father, I’ll say that much. Here was a Renaissance Man during a time when they were known as “polymaths.” A scientist, writer, inventor, champion of the free press, among dozens of others, Franklin was an intellectual who carried the wit and spirit of a commoner. His written works range from ardently and precociously democratic to observant and humorous, such as his infamous letter advising a friend on how to choose a mistress. He was a brilliant satirist to boot, up there with Geoffrey Chaucer as one of the founding fathers of humor as far as I’m concerned.

This long windup brings me to A Great Awakening, the second cinematic production from Sight & Sound Theaters, the Pennsylvania-based entertainment company, known for their biblical stage-plays. It follows the surprise hit I Heard the Bells from 2022, and showed the largest faith-based theater company in the nation might have some viability as a film production company ala Angel Studios. True to the spirit of Ol’ Ben himself, A Great Awakening offers a lot to contemplate whenever Franklin, played by John Paul Sneed, is on-screen, but falters as it proves very early into its two-hour runtime that it is more interested in being didactic as opposed to entertaining.

Set in the 1740s, the film tells the story of the Great Awakening through the prism of two indispensable figures: Franklin and Rev. George Whitefield (Jonathan Blair), a plantation owner who spearheaded a protestant revival in the American colonies. Busy running the Pennsylvania Gazette, Franklin can’t help but see Whitefield as another bloviating snake oil salesman; a hypocritical carnival barker whose street-preaching is well-attended due to population congestion and his vocal prowess. Misgivings and headlines aside, Whitefield draws the attention of thousands. He is young, idealistic, physically imperfect (with a lazy eye), and relatable.

Being that the framework of the story has the elderly Franklin and his grandson, Benjy (JT Schafer), rummaging through old newspapers, with the veteran publisher waxing nostalgic about his foe-turned-friend, it does make for Franklin’s deep-seated knowledge of Whitefield’s origins half-questionable. We see Whitefield’s passion for performing arts get him into Oxford, where a crucial meeting with followers of Jesus Christ leads him to believe that if he can compel the public with his acting chops, he’d make for a generational preacher. He’s proven correct, for not only does his knowledge of scripture seemingly blossom in no time, but he proves to be a voice for the voiceless. He openly shuns the rigid, Anglican Church of England by preaching in the streets, and affording women, children, coalminers, and even slaves to be among a community that brings them closer to a higher power.

Co-writer Jonathan Blair is clearly acting above everyone in the cast. He’s a natural-born stage performer, capable of reaching the nosebleeds with his voice and gusto. John Paul Sneed also does fine work as Franklin, achieving his level of eloquent brilliance without caricaturizing him. At times, he recalls Paul Giamatti’s turn as John Adams both in appearance and in terms of being a natural fit for the role. That this film is at its most successful when it becomes a twofer between two men of opposite faiths is no surprise, for all the screenwriting chips have been pushed in their direction. There’s no room for anyone else, not even Josh Bates’ Alexander Hamilton, to leave an impact.

That same script is occasionally choppy when cutting back to “present day,” as Franklin spends his recess from the Constitutional Convention with Benjy. Perhaps this was necessary filler to avoid delving into the hypocrisy of Whitefield, who we see accept and even baptize slaves in his street gatherings, but also someone who owned them in order to run his Georgia orphanage — something Franklin pointedly brings up during an argument between the two men as Whitefield credits God with the survival of his business.

Given it’s the product of a Biblical theater company, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that A Great Awakening plays like a stage production. The actors, most of whom with more experience in front of a live audience than a camera, comes across as they’re performing more than embodying, if that makes sense, and the script requires them to belt most of their lines as opposed to utter them. Despite these theatrical elements, Joshua Enck’s film does have more than a couple slow-stretches, mostly due to its extensive and repetitive scenes of proselytizing that don’t inform, but instead, preach. Your time would be better serve browsing the Franklin Papers, one of the best archives there is, which houses thousands of written works by Ben Franklin himself.

Starring: John Paul Sneed, Jonathan Blair, JT Schafer, and Josh Bates. Directed by: Joshua Enck.