A nearly 30-years-later sequel to an already not-that-great first film; what can go wrong?

“Practical Magic 2” is the sequel to the 1998 cult classic, and features Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman reprising their roles of the witch Owens sisters. Still under the curse that traps the women of the family to never find love, the pair must find a way to save Bullock’s daughter (Joey King) from the same fate as them. Dianne Wiest and Stockard Channing also return, while Lee Pace, Maisie Williams, and Xolo Maridueña join the cast; Susanne Bier directs.

I never saw the original “Practical Magic” until last fall, and was left unimpressed. I expected the film to be campy, not melodramatic, and sadly that some complaint lingers with the second film. Running an inexcusable 130 minutes, the film takes itself too seriously far too often, and the screenplay commits the modern sin of not trusting its audience.

It’s clear that Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock are having fun e̶a̶r̶n̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶a̶ ̶p̶a̶y̶c̶h̶e̶c̶k̶ reprising the roles from the peak of their stardom back in 1998, and some of that charm does come through the screen. The issue is that like so many modern Hollywood stars, their faces struggle to show any emotion, so even in the somber moments we’re left looking at a relatively stoic face. 

Joey King and Maisie Williams play Bullock’s daughters, and aren’t really given any character traits outside “she’s a doctor” and “she likes poetry.” Lee Pace is also there doing his Lee Pace thing. The plot suffers from the same issue of many legacy sequels in that there was not any actual reason to bring these characters back, and things are so stretched thin that even the new characters get sidelined after a while (Williams is especially relegated to a glorified cameo role after the first act).

For a $75 million movie, the special effects aren’t great (there is even a scene where two characters are having a conversation in a library and I’m convinced it was shot in front of a green screen). The climax (which feels very rushed into, and ends as soon as it begins) also has a few “yikes” moments when we finally get some big spell-casting.

I’m aware I’m not the target demographic for this, and for what it’s worth there was an older woman who was laughing at a lot of the jokes and references (many of which went over my head). The themes of womanhood and sisterly bonds are also something that won’t resonate with me as much as it will with other viewers, and for some these light moments may be enough.

“Practical Magic 2” is fine-enough, but the fact it runs over two hours long and continues the first film’s tonal identity crisis are both fairly big hurdles to overcome. Fans of the first film will surely get their kicks, but for the average moviegoer there isn’t enough magic to justify spending time with this coven.

Critics Rating: 5/10