"Practical Magic 2" REVIEW

Published on 9/23/2026 

Written by: Braylon Mitchell 

Directed by: Susanne Bier 

Cast: Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman, Maisie Williams, Joey King, Dianne Wiest, etc. 

Plot: A multi generational family of witches, cursed to be loveless for centuries, attempts to break the spell by confronting dark secrets and sacrificing for each other. 

REVIEW 

It wasn't until last week that I watched 1998's "Practical Magic" for the first time. I liked it well enough, and I understand why it's beloved by those that grew up with it. Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman were a joy together, and Griffin Dunne's direction was dynamic. Going into this sequel, I had no nostalgia for the original film—aside from your money, nostalgia is the one thing that Warner Bros. was banking on you bringing into the theater with you. To be as frank as possible, although my name is Braylon, I find there to be very little about this film worth all that much attention. This is another legacy-sequel in a recent long line of legacy-sequels that'll go just as soon as it came. There's aspects to like about the film. First and foremost, seeing great actresses such as Bullock and Kidman together on the big screen sharing a ton of very entertaining chemistry is a delight. This film, as well as the 1998 original for that matter, wouldn't be remembered if it wasn't for two of the most beloved actresses of our time giving lovable performances. The whole cast, old and new, are enjoyable. Outside of that, the script and direction feel just about as copy and paste as I'd feared. Nothing egregiously bad, nothing of much substance either. At worst the plot is convoluted, at best it's playing it very safe. "Practical Magic 2" is a perfectly fine, inoffensive, entertaining film that I'd say in the least derogatory way possible is a primetime example of a "mom" movie. The world needs its "mom" movies and in the humble opinion of this critic there's something nice about that. 

THREE BEST ELEMENTS

• Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman's performances. These two Oscar-winning actresses are a joy to watch bicker and batter together, funny and with just the right amount of emotion that this strong sisterhood bond requires to believe. 

• Stockard Channing and Dianne Wiest's performances. The aunts were my favorite characters from the original film, and I'm pretty sure they were a lot of people's because their roles in this film were much more prominent and key to the emotional core of the film. Also, it's delightful to see these two veteran actresses that work minimally on the big screen in a big budget blockbuster in the year 2026. 

• The soundtrack/music supervision. I fell for this film's soundtrack pretty hard. A fun mix of 70s-pop-rock tracks and of course the use of that one "put the lime in the coconut" song that'll be stuck in my head for the next week. 

WORST ELEMENT 

• Nothing about the film stands out as particularly memorable, plain and simply. 

RATING

5/10

You can wait 'till it's streaming, buddy!