Hollywood and the MSM assume Americans share their narrow liberal worldview, then act stunned when conservatives like Trump win elections. The box office tells the same story. Critics boost woke flops like Supergirl and sneer at hits like Young Washington, while audiences show up for the latter and the former loses billions. Produced by Angel Studios, Young Washington focuses on the early life of America's first president: Liberal critics are in full anti-patriotism meltdown over the movie, but it keeps doing what the founding father did best- persevering against its foes. In The Wrap, William Bibbiani sneered that the film is "jingoistic" and downplays Washington's slaves: George Washington is motivated, we learn, by the inequities of his birth. It’s a cruel injustice that he isn’t allowed to go to school or join the British military, just because he wasn’t born with privilege. So he fights to right these wrongs, which would be inspiring were it not for the fact that, by the film’s own admission, he owns ten slaves. And it sure is telling that not only are Washington’s slaves never depicted on-screen, but when they are briefly acknowledged in dialogue — once — they’re described as recipients of his family’s charity. Washington inherited slaves as a teenager in a world where slavery had existed for millennia across Africa, the Ottomans, and the Americas. But he changed. He restricted the slave trade and freed his slaves in his will, more than most contemporaries did. The Wrap also raged over a scene depicting a Native leader calling Washington mystically protected after he miraculously survives battle: And when George Washington is told, point blank, that the Indigenous Peoples of America think he was chosen by the gods to be their land’s savior, you’ll be forgiven for yelling curse words at the screen, or even for throwing up. (Well, I’ll forgive you. The ushers at your local theater may feel differently.) As for Native Americans, conquest, migration, and divide-and-conquer shaped history long before Europeans arrived, and tribes warred among themselves, too. Variety was another vocal critic, portraying the film as grade-school "great-man" propaganda: “Young Washington” is like one of those great-man biographies you read in grade school. Released by Angel Studios for the Fourth of July, the movie is intended as a bit of likably square, neo-traditional, right-wing-adjacent counterprogramming. But say this much for it: In its life-of-an-American-plaster-saint way, Jon Erwin’s coming-of-age military adventure film doesn’t make being George Washington look easier than it was… “Young Washington” is just competent enough to create that crisp tug of schoolkid patriotism the books we read as children provided. Nothing wrong with that, as long as you’re not an adult confusing feel-good heroism with the lessons of history. Nothing wrong with that as long as you’re not an adult who wants to erase the good in America’s history just because flaws existed. The left’s fixation on past mistakes is just an attempt to delegitimize our republic. Who’s a threat to democracy again? The Chicago Tribune dismissed Young Washington as faith-based fluff: “Young Washington” is produced and distributed by Angel Studios, the faith-based movie studio that churns out films based on true stories that either feature freak accidents, strange illnesses, or more recently, unique stories from the past in which faith in God is a factor. Apparently, our nation’s founding also falls under this umbrella… Wait… “Apparently” God was a factor in our nation’s founding? Have modern history books been tampered with to the degree that even this basic, indisputable fact is no longer recognized? The review went on to demand more “nuanced” stories for middle schoolers (code for tearing down the Founders) and labeled the film “propaganda”: Audiences, including the middle school social studies students, deserve better and more nuanced stories about this country and the values it was built upon… But what else can you expect from “Young Washington”? It’s propaganda in the form of a history lesson in the shape of a summer blockbuster. If only it were even slightly entertaining — maybe they’ll tackle that in the inevitable sequel. The values it was built on? You mean Christian values? Yes, students should definitely be taught more about that. The Chicago Tribune shockingly awarded Young Washington only 1.5 out of 4 stars. Yet audiences strongly disagree, as proven with a tremendous 92% viewer score on Rotten Tomatoes, an impressive A from CinemaScore, excellent reviews on IMDb, and $33 million in box-office revenues in its first ten days Even younger generations are enjoying it as these students demonstrated with chants of “Washington” after viewing it: Students ERUPT into chants of "Washington!" after watching "Young Washington" at Mount Vernon. pic.twitter.com/xD1SlP10Qv — Ocean Rasso (@OceanRasso) July 12, 2026 Actor Chris Pratt raved with enthusiastic praise, as well: Celebrate America’s 250th birthday at the box office!!! There’s a lot of great choices this weekend. But considering it’s July 4 weekend I humbly suggest “Young, Washington.” I was actually blown away. The movie is incredible. Like Braveheart for Americans. Jon Erwin crushed it.… pic.twitter.com/dl1a3Uy39o — Chris Pratt (@prattprattpratt) July 3, 2026 Critics may wish we’d all feel shame for our country, but Americans are clearly showing their patriotism and love of the grit, bravery, liberty and self-rule that created this great nation. Young Washington is a rousing summer flick reminding us why America remains history's greatest experiment.