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Star Cast: Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman, Lee Pace, Joey King, and Maisie Williams.
Director: Susanne Bier
What’s Good: The chemistry between the three leads is palpable and makes for a fun watch
What’s Bad: The story itself feels forced, making the characters go backwards for plot’s sake.
Loo Break: Take a break during the second act, but nevertheless, the film is not that long.
Watch or Not?: Watch only if you are a fan of the actors or the original film.
Language: English (with subtitles)
Available On: Theaters
Runtime: 110 Minutes
User Rating:
The Devil Wears Prada 2 was released earlier in the year, proving that there is still an audience for legacy sequels, meaning sequels that come decades after the release of their original films, and so, predicting the trend comes Practical Magic 2, a sequel to the almost forgotten film from 1998, and the result is a competent film that feels a bit forced in justifying its existence but, at least it is fun to watch thanks to its leads.
Practical Magic 2 Movie Review: Script Analysis
The original Practical Magic was a very harmless film, one that pushed forward thanks to the ability of its leads, Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman, to carry the movie all the way through, but was in fact a very tame drama of self-acceptance and not much else, a classic, romantic women-led film from the 90s, but sadly, the film has been almost completely forgotten, which is why the existence of this second film is such a surprise, as it feels like no one really was waiting for this to happen.
The result of such an out-of-the-blue film is yet another competent film that is carried by both Bullock and Kidman, introduces a new fantastic character, Ian, played by Lee Pace, but also introduces a plot line where a new set of Owen witches start their journey in the ways of magic, mirroring the events of the first film, thus leaving me with the perception that the film is not only trying to be a sequel but a reboot too, at the same time.
The movie is then torn into two directions, one following our legacy characters and another following our new set of witches, and it all feels so forced, like there is no justification for the movie to exist other than Bullock wanting to capitalize on the trend of legacy sequels and choosing one of her lesser movies to do so. This is still not bad, but the plot and the story in general feel more like setup for more sequels and not something that actually builds on what came before.
And that is the movie’s biggest problem from a writing perspective, the events of the first film feel redundant or dream-like, like they never happened, as the character of Sally continues to reject her magical bloodline, thus going backwards and making her start all over again, while also giving the new girls also basically the same journey Bullock and Kidman went through in the first film. This hurts the film, and it makes me wish that this was a proper sequel, giving us a new journey for most characters.
Practical Magic 2 Movie Review: Star Performance
Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman are movie stars by all definitions of the term, and seeing them together is a true powerful force, their charisma is infectious, and their sisterly relationship is the highlight of the film, although the movie treats them as younger characters than they actually look or feel in the movie itself, which jumps at the audience as an odd choice or direction when it comes to the characters.
Lee Pace is fantastic, and although he is supposed to be Bullock’s love interest, he has chemistry with basically everyone, making their relationship a bit of a weird item. Meanwhile, Joey King and Maisie Williams do their best, but their performances and sections of the movie are the least interesting of the entire project, as they feel more like a rethread and not an actual sequel.
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Practical Magic 2 Movie Review: Direction, Music
Susanne Bier directs this sequel, but the talented Danish filmmaker feels like she is in autopilot, a far tale from movies like “After the Wedding,” where she actually proved she could command the screen in a powerful drama, giving emotional life to the character on screen, but maybe this is not this type of film, this is a shallow and casual film, which is nice, but you always feel that it could have been more from a visual point of view.
The sets are irregular, and the music is just there enough to guide you through the emotions the film is conveying—not too much drama, comedy, or wild choices, but just enough to make you realize music is sounding, and you should let it guide you through the experience.
Practical Magic 2 Movie Review: The Last Word
Practical Magic 2 is not a bad film, but it is not a great film either; it is more the type of film you watch on a lazy Sunday if you have nothing to do, but it is hard to recommend this as a cinema experience, as there is so little to justify that, but it is an excellent home watch, thanks to Bullock, Kidman and Pace, who just rock in every scene, but sadly need to share it with the new young witches trying to take the stage.
Practical Magic 2 Trailer
Practical Magic 2 releases on 11th September, 2026.
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