Practical Magic 2 is truly the Hollywood sequel that shouldn't exist — there aren't enough midnight margaritas in the world to make me forget it immediately

TechRadar Verdict

I knew the odds of Practical Magic 2 being a genuinely good legacy sequel were slim to none, but I didn't think it was going to miss the mark this badly. Nothing screams 'money grab' quite like stripping away almost all of what made the original film so special.

Pros

• +Dianne Wiest and Stockard Channing are the sequel's biggest saving grace
• +Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman are also largely on form
• +Flash of the original whimsy can be found, albeit briefly
• +Katy Wix, what are you doing here?

Cons

• -Poor storyline choice after poor storyline choice
• -Embodies almost none of the original movie's charm
• -An offensive use of custard (and other Britishisms)
• -There's almost no point in Maisie Williams being in it
• -Dialogue that made my screening audibly groan
• -Somehow, this becomes a man's story
• -Too many new characters that we don't care about

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Disclaimer

Minor spoilers for Practical Magic 2 ahead.

"I like this... your molecules next to my molecules. It's chemistry," is a verbatim line from Practical Magic 2 that sent a wave of groans around my screening room in a way that I've never experienced collective groaning before. This, in a nutshell, sums up the experience of watching a legacy sequel that hasn't delivered.

Of course, we're living through an industry spike of dusting off old IPs for a box office resurgence, which in itself is frustrating. But in the main — think Top Gun: Maverick, Freakier Friday and The Devil Wears Prada 2 — these have been successful replicas. I've no doubt that Practical Magic 2 will do big theatrical numbers over the next few weeks... but where is the actual magic?

Whereas my three examples stayed largely true to the essence of their original stories, Practical Magic 2 has veered too far away from what made it so special to begin with. This time around, Sally Owens' (Sandra Bullock) daughters, Kylie (Joey King) and Antonia (Maisie Williams), are all grown up, but magic is no longer a part of their lives.

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But when Kylie's boyfriend has a fatal accident, the Owens curse returns to the surface. It's up to Sally and Gillian (Nicole Kidman) to work together to make things right, which is where the sequel transforms from whimsical nineties Massachusetts vibes into a knockoff Harry Potter film.

It's a pretty underwhelming setup, and that's before we dissect the continually poor narrative choices that the creative team makes. Pretty soon, the action is split between the US and UK, and that's only bad news for everybody involved.

Practical Magic 2 comes too far away from what makes the original special

Practical Magic 2 | Official Trailer - YouTube

Watch On

Before I get too carried away with the faults of Practical Magic 2, let's start with the good. When they're left to their own devices, the Owens sisters are as loving, mischievous and playful as they ever were, and those moments are a portal straight back to 1998. Their house is exactly as we left it, and spending time in their hometown is a bittersweet reminder of the cosy 90s whimsy we've left behind.

But the real stars of the show are Dianne Wiest (Aunt Jet) and Stockard Channing (Aunt Franny), for whom this sequel feels like an extension of who they were 28 years ago. When the storyline strays too far from what we want (more on that later), Practical Magic 2 still proves that the greatest love story ever told is between these two sisters... and by God, how lucky we are to have them, characters and actors alike.

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