{"id":15023,"date":"2026-09-12T14:07:07","date_gmt":"2026-09-12T18:07:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/?p=15023"},"modified":"2026-09-12T14:08:03","modified_gmt":"2026-09-12T18:08:03","slug":"practical-magic-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/2026\/09\/12\/practical-magic-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Practical Magic 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Practical Magic 2<\/strong> (2026)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Warner Bros.\/Comedy-Fantasy\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RT: 130 minutes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rated PG-13 (some violent content, suggestive material, brief strong language)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Director: Susanne Bier\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Screenplay: Akiva Goldsman, Georgia Pritchett and Kelly Marcel\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Music: Rupert Gregson-Williams\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cinematography: Simon Duggan\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Release date: September 10, 2026 (US)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cast: Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman, Joey King, Maisie Williams, Lee Pace, Xolo Mariduena, Dianne Wiest, Stockard Channing. Solly McLeod.<\/p>\n

Rating<\/strong>: ** \u00bd<\/p>\n

\u00a0Surprisingly, I\u2019ve never been asked to name my favorite legacy sequel. For the record, the term refers to a follow-up that comes twenty or more years after the original. To answer the question never put to me, it\u2019s The Color of Money (1986), Martin Scorsese\u2019s sequel to the 1961 classic The Hustler. It\u2019s perfect in every which way.<\/p>\n

\u00a0It seems like a lot of movies from the 80s and 90s are finally getting their due with belated sequels like Top Gun: Maverick, Hocus Pocus 2 and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. The latest is Practical Magic 2<\/strong>, a follow-up to the 1998 supernatural comedy-fantasy starring Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman as witchcraft-practicing sisters. I didn\u2019t know there was a demand for a second movie, but apparently the first one has a significant cult following. I\u2019m guessing they\u2019re the main driving force behind this sequel.<\/p>\n

\u00a0So what are the Owens sisters, straight-laced Sally (Bullock) and free-spirited Gilly (Kidman), up to these days? They\u2019re obviously older and maybe even a little bit wiser. Unfortunately, the family curse is still very much on. Any man loved by an Owens woman is still doomed to die a horrible death. We find this out in the opening moments when Sally visits the graves of both dead husbands. In her grief, she casts a spell on her two young daughters to make them forget about their magical roots. She hopes it will help them avoid the family curse. HA! Like it\u2019s ever that easy.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Twenty-five years later, Sally is living as a spinster in that big house with Gilly. Her girls Kylie (King, The Kissing Booth) and Antonia (Williams, Game of Thrones) are grown and living their own magic-free lives. Kylie is in a relationship with Gideon (Mariduena, Blue Beetle) who loves her and isn\u2019t afraid to say so. When she finally says the words out loud, it\u2019s only a matter of hours before he has a close brush with death.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Kylie confronts her mom about the rumors of a family curse and eventually gets the truth out of Gilly. Angry, she storms out of the house with a magical book supposedly containing a way to end the curse. She has visions that guide her to England. She\u2019s determined to save the comatose Gideon before death can claim him like it has so many others. Predictably, there are darker forces at work here.<\/p>\n

\u00a0It\u2019s Mom and Auntie to the rescue as Sally and Gilly head off to the UK to rescue Kylie. They\u2019re advised by Aunt Frances (Channing, Grease) to seek the help of Ian Wright (Pace, Guardians of the Galaxy), a professor of the history of magic. He\u2019s an oddball to be sure, but he knows what he\u2019s doing. Also, Sally kind of likes him even though she won\u2019t admit to it. He\u2019s the one who eventually help her get her magic groove back.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Directed by Susanne Bier (Bird Box), Practical Magic 2<\/strong> gets off to a rocky start, but gets better as it goes along. Now I\u2019m not saying it\u2019s better or worse than the original. In fact, I think the two films are about equal. However, it does do one thing better. It has a clearer idea of what it wants to be. The first movie was all over the place in terms of genre. I described it as \u201ca witches\u2019 brew of romantic comedy, supernatural horror, domestic abuse drama and crime procedural\u201d in my review. Practical Magic 2<\/strong> leans more into the supernatural aspects of the story while retaining the whole sisterhood thing. It makes a few half-hearted stabs at rom-com (Sally and Ian), but they feel noticeably out of place. Despite this small hiccup, it has a stronger sense of identity than its predecessor. I\u2019d call that an improvement.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Practical Magic 2<\/strong> is still far from perfect. At 130 minutes, it\u2019s longer than it needs to be. It\u2019s not like Bier is making an epic of some sorts. Also, Bullock tends to be really annoying here. What is it with her and sequels? Is there some kind of curse I\u2019m not aware of? Look at the Speed movies. She was great in the first one and completely obnoxious in the second. The same holds true for the Miss Congeniality duology. Now we get annoying Sandy in Practical Magic 2<\/strong>. Is she forever doomed to tank in sequels to her hit films? Man, I hope not. I do like her.<\/p>\n

\u00a0One of things I wish had been explored more in Practical Magic 2<\/strong> is the relationship between Kylie and Antonia. They\u2019re like clones of their immediate ancestors with Antonia as the serious one and Kylie as the free spirit. I wanted more scenes of them together. Sadly, they spend a majority of the movie on different continents with doctor-to-be Antonia sitting by Gideon\u2019s hospital bedside while Kylie looks to save him. Thankfully, the two actresses do fine work in their respective roles. King is the standout as Kylie. I always knew she was a star in the making. Williams is good too despite her character not getting a lot of screen time.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Sandy and Nic still have great chemistry. It\u2019s nice to see Channing and Wiest (The Lost Boys) reprise their roles however briefly. Pace is a sweet addition to the cast as the tattooed man of Sandy\u2019s dreams even though she refuses to admit it. British actor Solly McLeod (Star City) shows up in a small but significant supporting role. I\u2019ll only say something darker hides behind his charm.<\/p>\n

\u00a0I didn\u2019t want to fall under its spell, but I almost did. I ended up liking Practical Magic 2<\/strong> more than I thought I would. It\u2019s an entertaining movie that will definitely please the fans. It tells a good story that\u2019s even moving in parts. Sure, it repeats many of the same beats as its predecessor (e.g. the Harry Nilsson song \u201cCoconut\u201d, margaritas), but it\u2019s what the fans expect. Overall, it\u2019s decent.<\/p>\n

\u00a0As for the whole legacy sequel thing, I wonder what\u2019s next. Is there a High Spirits 2 in the near future?\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Practical Magic 2 (2026)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Warner Bros.\/Comedy-Fantasy\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RT: 130 minutes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rated PG-13 (some violent content, suggestive material, brief strong language)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Director: Susanne Bier\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Screenplay: Akiva Goldsman, Georgia Pritchett and Kelly Marcel\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Music: Rupert Gregson-Williams\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cinematography: Simon Duggan\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Release date: September 10, 2026 (US)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cast: Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman, Joey King, Maisie Williams, Lee Pace, Xolo Mariduena, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":15024,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[41],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15023","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-now-playing"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Practical-Magic-2-POSTER.jpg?fit=620%2C775&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15023","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15023"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15023\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15027,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15023\/revisions\/15027"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15024"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15023"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15023"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15023"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}