Drummer Boy Review: Spiritual Successor To 1776 Has Better Ideas Than Execution

Angel Studios' Drummer Boy works better as a period-piece character drama than a Revolutionary War musical, but benefits from solid visual elements. Published Nov 4, 2026, 2:17 PM EST Brandon Zachary is a Lead Writer for Screen Rant's New Movie Team. He also writes or has written for Comicbook.com, CBR, That Hashtag Show, Just Watch, and TVBrittanyF. Brandon is an Emerging Screenwriters Semi-Finalist, co-writer of a Screencraft Quarter-Finalist, a seasoned on-screen interviewer, and a MASSIVE nerd. You can reach him at bs.zachary@gmail.com History-tinted musicals have proven to be surprisingly fertile ground for songwriters, with some deeply powerful tales brought to life through music on both the stage and screen. Past hits like Evita and more recent musicals like Hamilton and Six have mined that space for great songs and compelling narratives. Drummer Boy is aiming for something a bit more specifically cinematic in scope, sacrificing much of the specific history for a more general setting against the backdrop of the Revolutionary War. It works best when it leans hard into its character drama, recalling something like The Patriot. However, Angel Studios also made it a melodramatic musical, which doesn't land quite as effectively. Clunky in places but with strong underlying bones to its story and performances, Drummer Boy is elevated by a well-crafted production, even when its music and characters verge on dull. Drummer Boy Works Best As A Period-Piece Drama Set against the early days of the Revolutionary War, Drummer Boy is largely focused on Jeremiah (Joel David Smallbone) and Benjamin Clem (Lucas Leach), a pair of brothers who find themselves on opposing sides of the conflict. Their dynamic actually gets a bit more nuanced than one would expect from the premise, with both sides cast in shades of moral grayness that give the movie a good touch of complexity. It's not just a story of loyalist vs. revolutionary; the growing disillusionment that both brothers face provides welcome thematic weight that anchors the film. Drummer Boy also benefits from solid cinematography by Cathal Watters, who works with directors Ben and Joel David Smallbone to deliver some well-shot sequences. The action and drama largely work together, especially once the film shifts into more deliberate wartime tropes. While the plot doesn't necessarily do anything unexpected, it's all shot with a certain amount of effective framing and color. As Jeremiah, Joel David Smallbone gives it his all, with his performance benefitting from the more deliberate, complex material. There's actually a lot of good historical drama in Drummer Boy. That's not to say the musical elements and romantic subplot are bad – they just don't compare. Drummer Boy Can't Consistently Keep The Beat Drummer Boy isn't necessarily a poor musical, but it does often feel like a bland one. The decision to give the Revolutionary War narrative a musical component immediately invites comparisons to projects like 1776 and Hamilton. The music is closer to the former than the latter, with an overreliance on ballads that leaves the soundtrack feeling unfortunately repetitive. The cast does what they can, especially India Brown as Emmaline. However, the songs never really break free of their established mold, with no real earworms or inventive approaches to break up the musical pacing. The songs blend together because of their shared, swooning nature. They're all well-performed, but quickly forgettable. Brown benefits most when the film shifts to a more dramatic angle, adding unexpected layers to her conflict with her owner, Beth Easdown's Elizabeth. It's a dynamic that does feel very one-note initially, but gains a surprising layer of depth in the latter half of the film, in ways that complicate both performances. It's not enough to salvage an otherwise trope-y villainous subplot, but it helps. Indeed, the reliance on tropes in general is Drummer Boy's greatest drawback. The narrative itself never really takes any surprising turns, even as the depth afforded to the characters and their perspectives adds some welcome color. The music may be forgettable, but it's also shot with good framing and flair. A version of this movie that leaned harder into being a character-driven period drama might have been able to escape some of what holds it back. If it had removed the songs and put more emphasis on the character dynamics, particularly Emmalin and Elizabeth's relationship once a big revelation about them comes to light, it could have been better. Instead, Drummer Boy suffers from its more mundane qualities. However, there's enough visual strength and good characterization to carry the film. Don't expect to be surprised by the plot or stunned by the music, but there's a genuinely compelling central narrative in Drummer Boy to make for a solid period drama. Drummer Boy releases in theaters on Friday, November 6. Drummer Boy 6/10 Release Date November 6, 2026 Director Ben Smallbone, Joel David Smallbone Writers Richard L. Ramsey Producers Chip Diggins, Kristy Choo, Luke Smallbone, Justin Tolley Cast Joel David Smallbone Jeremiah Clem Lucas Leach Benjamin Clem