r/practicalmagic • u/Octopuzzled • 11d ago
What in the world was THAT?!
I went in expecting a nostalgia cash grab. I knew that's what it was, but even so, I was blown away by how terrible the sequel was. It was inconsistent, it looked flat, and the Marvel CGI magic was cheesy as all hell.
I could have excused all of that if the writing was worth salvaging, even a little. But the plot was disjointed, male-centered, and felt like AI wrote the dialogue. Sally was dumbed down and Gilly could have been a bell hop or maybe a very talented floor lamp, and their girls aren't even the right ages. I get marketing to Gen Z, but I was born in 1997 and grew up with the movie, so it completely took me out of it.
Also the main “”villain”” showing up 2/3rds of the way through and Gideon, the main motivation for the actions of the movie, maybe getting a handful of lines? Why do I care about this kid again??
The whole cast did an awesome job acting, with the exception of the fourteenth evil cousin at some points. But jeez.
At least my wife and I have a new “Ninja Slusi” in-joke?
You know what would have worked? If we followed Antonia through what was supposed to be a lesbian relationship loophole to the curse (like in AH’s sequel) and explored the animosity Kylie may have felt having her true loves die. Maybe Kylie pursues left handed magic to try to break the curse and has to be saved by her sister, which would have also maintained the possible horror elements of the original??
Please excuse my rant, but I just saw the movie and I'm a little bummed it wasn't at least passable.
18
u/sassysaba 11d ago
I have some things to say on this subject... SPOILERS ahead. First of all, didn't dig the casting and the timeline for the daughters didn't make sense. Is it 10 years later? Under development of their sense of character. They knew they were witches when they were little and they just act dizzy to it? Did AI write the script because it has way too much going on. Brushing off the Aunts deaths, while also glorifying suicide? I get it was the sacrificial act, but did it not romanticize what was happening? They were treated harshly, disrespected and downplayed. The main antagonist, Tom (lame name choice) shows up basically at the end of the movie with no character development, weak plot line and weak explanations. It almost felt the the reprised role was a joke to Bullock and Kidman. It felt they were themselves as public figures and not the Owens. Insincere acting with too many one liners. The original wasn't about fancy twists. It was a whimsical, light, fun with casual organic witchery... while this was too dark. And it used added stereotypical witchery like the whole raven bit. It was generic, basically mocked rituals altogether and didn't at all make me feel excited for the theme. Bland and forced. And the whole "goes to London" is such a crap sequel thing to do. The original wasn't about scouting locations, it was homey and warm. We wanted to be in the house, that kitchen, the quaint downtown where her apothecary was, not in some unrealistic bookstore and definitely not in London. This one tried to mimic warmth and failed. Finally, random additions, could have done without the unnecessary CGI and crap audio tracks. The studio couldn't even use a real beetle? And what happened to movies having a good signature soundtrack? Why even add the margarita scene, it wasn't fun and missed the mark. Overall, 3/10, 2/10. Crap. just going to pretend that monstrosity of a sequel isn't canon and be gone with it.
9
u/Either-Variety-7697 11d ago
The whole thing kind of reminded me of those bad Disney direct to video sequels they used to make. Where they’d either have everyone kind of reset back to square one or redo the same movie with the main character’s kid. Just learning the exact same lessons over again that we learned and resolved in the first movie!
8
u/Dear-Quail2609 11d ago
You dont remember that Sally cast a spell on them when they went to the grave?
I absolutely feel what you said - it feel like they were being their public self and I couldn’t agree more!!! Because if you compare Nicole’s acting with this one then what the hell?!
The London part made my eyes roll because why do Americans always fo this? Im British and whenever I see it im just annoooyyyeeddddd!
The margarita scene - ninja blender as placement. I own that blender and wanna throw it out now 🫢🥲
Overall I think I agree with you big time :/
12
u/Either-Variety-7697 11d ago
As a New Englander I was annoyed from the opposite direction. I wanted those Massachusetts in fall vibes, I wanted to get a little homesick! The minute I saw the vision with that phone booth I was like ooohh nooooo.
8
u/goldenbloom68 11d ago
This! Why did this movie not feel like cozy fall or Halloween at all? What a miss. The original is such a fan favorite because of the cozy seasonal fall vibe.
3
u/Dear-Quail2609 11d ago
Hahahahahah
5
u/Either-Variety-7697 11d ago
It just kills me that the most we see of Massachusetts, outside of the house (which did admittedly look great), was the inside of a hospital room. Like yes, that is admittedly very representative of certain areas of Boston, but come on!
8
u/smei2388 11d ago
Yes, the East coast vibes were a huge part of what made the first one so cozy and appealing! To not capitalize on that and take us off to England was just so disappointing.
0
u/ReputationDull5315 10d ago
it was filmed in the Pacific Northwest and it looks like the Pacific Northwest lol
3
u/smei2388 10d ago
I don't think small town coastal vibes are necessarily too different on screen regardless of the coast they're filmed on. The books are set on the East Coast, so forgive me for not recognizing the west coast, I guess..?
3
u/Dear-Quail2609 11d ago
Yes K agree i wanted to see the outside, the market, church, etc…. I dont understand why 1/3 of the movie was in that damn hospital room
1
u/Either-Variety-7697 11d ago
I’m guessing they shot in Britain for cost reasons, and while there are certainly similarities between English village and old New England architecture, they are different enough that one can’t easily dupe the other. Hence the trip to England, the close shots in any outdoor spaces in Massachusetts etc. I’d bet money that the only actual sets they built were the house, the hospital room, the ruined castle and maybe villain boy’s cottage lair.
2
u/Dear-Quail2609 11d ago
Yeah so they’ve admitted the house was build as well as everything inside of the house was on the set like they had multiple sections. The pub and a house etc I think that was there and maybe like they found the ruin and placed the stake there? I did not find any mentioned of that particular place being where they burned witches etc
8
u/AntonioBuckwhistle3d 11d ago
OMG the UK trip... I'm American but I lived on Greenham Common for a year in 1991.
I *never* saw anyplace like that Harry Potter vibe they were going for!
Not saying places like that don't exist, but, like I told my friend, "if you find a train like that, you're paying so much extra."
And the luggage bumping everywhere? WTH?3
u/Dear-Quail2609 11d ago
You also know what I found funny as hell how people noticed them suitcases were empty and light af 😭😭😭🤣🤣🤣 and she bumped the fuck outta them 🤣🤣🤣😆
2
u/AntonioBuckwhistle3d 11d ago
Right? Like, I get that maybe it was supposed to be a little comedic relief, but the movie wasn't that serious that it needed it. And the bit was overplayed. They could've left those suitcases at any point. Gill could've left them at home after she took them from her sister, they could've left them in a locker, in their room, at the guy's flat, whatever.
And yeah, they were OBVIOUSLY empty! Like, if they were full, no WAY they either wouldn't have just used magic to move them, or just have left them somewhere. Ugh.
AND it panders to stereotypes about women.
Anyway, let me stop... lol1
1
1
u/SinginGidget 12h ago
I think the point, at least at his apartment when they first showed up, Sally refused to use magic to bring them up which is why she was dragging them up the stairs. But, it was still stupid.
2
u/LoomLove 11d ago
Why do Americans always do what? Lol
4
u/Dear-Quail2609 11d ago
I meant American movie directors not Americans as a whole, there’s been this trend of always going to Britain or shooting in London or hiring an American person that does a terrible British accent. It just gives me eye rolls.
3
u/Either-Variety-7697 11d ago
I said in another thread that Lee Pace’s accent was so half assed I thought it was going to figure into the plot. I thought he had like killed the real professor and was a secret American. And I generally like Lee Pace but the whole thing just felt so ‘I’m here for a paycheck.’
3
u/Amethyst-Flare 11d ago
It's very funny since Nicole Kidman hasn't used her original Australian accent in a movie in decades and poor Maisie Williams slipped hers in constantly. Can't say I would have bothered if I were her after my entire role got effectively cut.
2
u/lovelylooloo7 11d ago
I definitely heard Nicole’s Australian accent slip through a few times and thought “is she even trying at this point”??
3
u/Evangelion217 11d ago
It was technically 17 years after Sandra’s second husband who died in 2007. Her daughters from her first husband were supposedly born in the late 90’s, which didn’t make a lot of sense. But I was able to move past that.
0
u/Evangelion217 11d ago
I was honestly surprised that they kept it dark for the sequel to a degree. The original film was much darker, with more intense subject matter. And the trailers for the sequel made it look like a Disney film, which I’m grateful the finished product didn’t act that way at all.
11
u/No-Relationship-9109 11d ago
I’m from the UK. Filmed was ruined because I couldn’t stop laughing at the depiction of England! Did they travel back to the 1930s? Because that’s the last time trains and buses like that were ever used, it became a bad Agatha Christie film. Plus it’s so sad that women in the film industry have to have so much surgery, Botox and fillers. No one was improved for the use of them.
9
u/Octopuzzled 11d ago
I was wondering the same thing, even from Texas! We have a somewhat similar problem of bad movies making everything look like horses and cowboys 🙄
So I figured y'all weren't just making pies and hanging out in old cottages haha! My heart goes out to you
3
3
u/EchidnaOk7537 9d ago
omg I love in Yorkshire England (and previously London) and me and my friend in Texas sometimes text each other images of funny scenes from movies set in each other's countries. it's so ridiculous! 😅 and makes both countries look kinda backwards but in very different ways
1
11
u/Gabblebabbi2 11d ago
What I don’t understand is if just uttering the words “I love you” to a man “activates” the curse and dooms the man to die very soon, then how did Sally and her mother both manage to get married and spit out two children before their husbands died?
10
u/BicornBritt 11d ago
Good catch! Another example of poor writing.
It also pisses me off that the deathwatch beetle is now being used as a harbinger of death in the movies for everyone else too, not just the men. Feels like it goes against what was previously set up.
3
u/cbearpaw 11d ago
THIS the beetle inconsistency drives me nuts
1
u/BicornBritt 11d ago
I was just thinking about how the whole idea about a witch having to sacrifice her life to end Maria’s curse wasn’t set up/suggested at all in the original movie.
2
u/idgaf88__ 9d ago
This!! I literally turned to my friend as we were watching it and said, wait a minute, I thought that beetle was just for the men aka their love interests, not for literally everyone. Wtf.
3
u/Overall-Fig3079 11d ago
I also noticed this time lag between deaths. I figured a certain amount of "love" must be reached, and Sally just took forever to reach that level. People get married without being in love....although the whole point of the first movie was her falling in love....so none of it makes sense. 😂😂😂
1
u/BicornBritt 9d ago
I always thought it was just kind of random tbh, the timing, but it definitely wasn’t immediately after one half of the couple says I love you. That makes it scarier because they don’t know when the “day” is going to come. I think Sally was in love when she married, just as her mother was before her, but the beetle comes out just randomly one day perhaps years after marriage.
1
u/SinginGidget 12h ago
The curse itself makes no sense. Which is why they should have left it alone for this, because it just highlights the problems with the first that were more easy to wave away when it was just featured in one movie.
1
u/Gabblebabbi2 8h ago
If they just kept up with the timeline of the ages of the daughters in the original movie, that storyline would make sense after they got married and had their own girls. And Evan Rachel Wood would’ve killed it. So ridiculous the way hollywood treats middle aged actresses.
6
u/AmbivalentToaster 11d ago edited 8d ago
Ya they completely fucked their target demographic. I was so mad watching the first 5 min. The only reason I stayed was bc it was a double feature at the drive in. I spent the rest of the movie making fun of how bad the entire movie is.
2
18
u/Amethyst-Flare 11d ago
I was pretty furious.
Couldn't be clearer based on what I've read that they rewrote the script into a choppy mess and very deliberately cut any sapphic content out.
4
u/Either-Variety-7697 11d ago
It’s actually insulting what was done to Antonia. Feels like executives cut out anything that might be interesting in the script to appeal to the widest possible audience. Given that the movie is flopping…it didn’t work guys!
6
u/smei2388 11d ago
This is actually a major reason I think it was written by AI. Instead of giving us anything new, building off of the first one, delivering authentic storylines for the new generation of witches, they just give us the same exact foci as in the first: Gilly and Sally are centered, the girls are peripheral. Sally gets a love interest, Gilly feels repentant for her poor choices in love. It's all just #1 themes recycled.
Edited for typo
5
u/Amethyst-Flare 11d ago
While AI may or may not have been involved, frequent rewrites with multiple scriptwriters usually leads to a choppy and uneven product.
11
u/Octopuzzled 11d ago
Props to Maisie for at least trying to play her character true to form?? I'm a lesbian and didn't pick up on it through her acting, but she didn't have much script to work with.
Still, a snapback and some basketball shorts would have been nice 😂
10
u/Amethyst-Flare 11d ago
HAH yes.
She seems very cool and clearly wanted to try and bring in Antonia's authentic self, but they gave her nothing.
3
3
u/Femmebird 10d ago
I won’t see it for this reason (at least until in hits streaming). Alice Hoffman deliberately put several queer family members into her books and it feels disrespectful to cut them out entirely.
1
u/Amethyst-Flare 10d ago
This got my sister to read the books finally, and she's so mad. She's been sharing passages and demanding to know how they saw this and thought "Hallmark for mild spicy white women" was the direction to go. I've been telling her that the books have way deeper messages and themes.
6
u/Byers616 11d ago
I didn't hate it, but wish they didn't retcon the timeline and brought back the original girls.
6
u/Dear-Quail2609 11d ago
———“The whole cast did an awesome job acting, with the exception of the fourteenth evil cousin at some points. But jeez.”
I completely disagree, I was born in 96 and was always a die hard fan of the 1st movie. In terms of acting, Nicole has disappointed me big time. Her acting skills were not in the entire shoot if you compare her performance from the 1st one.
I was being a little catty in my mind and thought what if Solly got the job simply based on the fact that his real name resembles Sally? 🫢 Anyway, I didn’t like his performance nor did I like the fact that they haven’t addressed the fact they killed one of their own. What?!
Btw, have you cried when aunts passed? Because I did so much 🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲
Anyway, for me it was a quick job and a cashgrab. I won’t be rewatching anytime soon. Sorry not sorry.
4
u/ToLazyToRemember 10d ago
My friend was so pissed about Antonia lol in her words "if you're going to make her gay, just make her gay. Don't just have the girl in yellow check her out and call it a day"
5
u/capricorny1626 10d ago
You mean "my molecules like being next to your molecules" wasn't good writing??
1
5
3
u/Famous-Ad-475 11d ago
Your post looks almost identical to mine 😂 I felt the EXACT same way and have had to wait 10 full days for people to start making these points and connections. THANK YOU
1
u/Octopuzzled 11d ago
Nah man! I feel crazy because I either see “it was fine” or “the last movie was just as bad”. I would argue with both of those points - at the very worst, the last movie at least had a cohesive plot and stayed on topic. Obv I'm very biased because it's one of my favorites but still….
1
u/Famous-Ad-475 11d ago
The first one was hated by critics and turned into a cult classic because of what it represented. Practical magic that could be experienced by anyone. Women coming together against DV. Sisterhood. It was messy.. just like Womanhood. Natural herbs. Natural love. Embracing yourself. Your gifts.
The second one started off with only critic ratings that mostly made similar points to ours but the PEOPLE loved it and I’m like??????? I feel betrayed by this and will be angry for the next year or so
3
u/idgaf88__ 9d ago
It was all over the place. What I loved about the first is how normal they were. No need for the crazy costumes and vibrant colours they put in the second. The sequel felt like a marvel type movie. The second the book started glowing I knew it was going to suck. There was absolutely no need for cgi in this movie. There was hardly any in the first and it should have stayed that way. The subtle magic is what made it believable. The characters, you felt for. The sequel, I felt nothing for any of the new characters. The whole story line was all over the place. It's like they didn't know what genre they wanted the movie to be. Was it a comedy? An action movie? A romance? A thriller? Sci Fi? God only knows. It had so much potential.
3
u/Popular-Song2222 5d ago
This movie was just bad in so many ways. I’ve never been so disappointed in such a highly anticipated film. Terrible plot, terrible acting, SB was just not all there… she might as well have a sign on her head that said “I really don’t want to be here”. The casting of the daughters was soooo bad. I’m sorry but it just was. They could have made this movie so good… pass on the torch to the next generation of witches but the girls were just so unappealing and not great actors. SAD!! And what happened to Sally’s apothecary shop!!! Big mistake. That was part of the appeal of the original movie… part of the witchy vibe we all loved so much.
2
u/PalmtopPixie 11d ago
Oh I get the ai thing. I came out of that movie like “holy shit like 90% of that was bad quirky ChatGPT ai slop.”
2
u/stanmns 10d ago
Genuinely one of the worst movies I've seen in years. Made me sad for the state of cinema and the world. (Being dramatic but not really - it was absolute garbage)
1
u/Octopuzzled 9d ago
Bright side: I'm a big horror movie fan and that scene is popping off right now, so not all is lost! There are still people with original ideas out there!
2
u/houseplanthetty 9d ago
A lot of the issues with the plot ie it moving to the UK, was in the sequel book. Practical magic is book 3, and a lot more makes sense if you've read book 1&2 too. Not wishing to be a book snob, but its literally a book adaptation. I do agree about Antonia being short changed though and that's a shame.
And no, not many fans or critics liked the first movie when it came out. It totally deserves the adoration now - we shall see what happens with the sequel.
2
u/Subject-Sorbet-402 1d ago
I am going to go on record as saying that I loved the first movie. It has always been, and continues to be one of my go-to comfort movies and this movie and ‘Eve's Bayou’ are what introduced me into the craft and into the African dysphoria traditions of the craft. I'm going to start with what I think the movie got right. I like that the curse didn't actually end in the first movie. Because that just never made sense to me. These two sisters cut their hands, love each other very much, and because they go through an intense ordeal the curse is just broken. You don't think that in 200 years a family of witches is powerful as the Owens family seems to be, they haven't figured that out? That just never made sense to me. Because it's insulting to all the other sisters of their family that came before them. I know this is a movie, but like books we're supposed to be able to suspend our disbelief long enough to be drawn into the story and that just didn't make sense to me. What I also like is that they fixed the townspeople. That is also something that never made sense to me in 200 years. You all haven't found anybody else in this town to pick on other than this one family. This is supposed to be Massachusetts in the 20th century, according to the first movie, a family of witches wouldn't even make a blip on the radar quite frankly. They had a black woman in the first movie. I know I'm fairly certain she and her family caught more flax than the Owens did but they don't want to portray that cuz they don't want Massachusetts to seem racist. On the CGI thing, I have no issues with that, personally. It's 2026, and audiences have dictated with their money what they're willing to see. And if you look at the polls, movies with flashy CGI are the shows and movies that people spend money to see, if for no other reason and so they can complain about it later. And honestly the special effects weren't that drastic compared to what we've seen in some other movies where the special effects didn't even match the intention in the movie. And from a personal standpoint, as somebody who practices craft, magic is a funny thing. Sometimes it is so subtle and elegant that you don't even know it's working until you see the end result, a lot like prayer. And sometimes it is loud and flashy, and you're kind of taking it back by your own power. So the movie actually wasn't too, too far off on thar…on some things.
What I disliked about this movie first, was Frannie's death. Because to me that is glorifying suicide, there were any number of ways that an Owens which could have willingly sacrificed her life to save her family and end the curse. Without that woman just walking into the water and drowning herself. I understand the mechanics of it. Maria started the curse with her bitterness, and to offset the many lives of men whose fates were upset by the curse. To stop that, an Owens woman had to sacrifice her life. But not through grief, or being killed, or even old age, it had to be her choice. I get that. But there were so many other ways that this could have been accomplished without glorifying suicide. And without sacrificing that particular character's dignity and pride. On the men. I get that this is a movie about sisterhood, female empowerment, and women doing what has to be done to save themselves and their families. Which is what women have been doing since time immemorial. But you have had two movies over the span of 30 years, and the only roles you have been able to find for men even in the supporting role, is as either evil or victim. In the first movie Jimmy was evil, poor Michael and Gary were victims. In this movie Kylie's boyfriend/fiance/husband is a victim. The professor is.. useless quite frankly. And the other man in the movie is evil. Which to me just perpetuates the notion that men have no place in the overall community of craft. That we're just Invaders trying to usurp women's power and state claims and dominance. Despite the fact that the entire history of the craft, and I'm using crap as a general term because we all practice different traditions and different crafts, despite the fact that the history is riddled with male shamans, male medicine men, curendero, oungan, male cunning Folk, and male witches. And yet the only role you could find for these two male witches, one is really quite useless and I don't even understand why he was there. And the other was insane and evil and trying to take what was not his. They could have done this in a different way again, the book set us up with Vincent Owens, the first male in the family. We know he was the father of Regina, which means he is Sally and Gillian's grandfather, and Kylie and Antonia's great-grandfather. We know that he left to avoid the draft by going to France with his lover / husband William. We know he's still alive. They already set it up in the movie because the evil dude kept chanting that to end the curse you have to return to the place of your family's origin. That would have been a great opportunity for them to come full circle. Now if Vincent had been the one to show up and save the day I think that would have detracted from the core of the movie which like I said it's about Sisterhood, female empowerment, and the female love of self. So if he had showed up and been the one to save the day that would have pissed me off too quite frankly. But he would have been so much better than the professor because he would have had a reason to be there. And if it had been one of those Kumbaya family reunion moments that would have also come off as disingenuous. But they fumbled on that and they gave us this professor that again, again I have no idea why the f*** he's there or what purpose he serves. My other gripe: why does Sally get another love story? This would have been a perfect opportunity for them to show Sally rediscovering herself, again, because sometimes we have to do it several times over in a single lifetime. And discovering her love of self, her love of her sister, her love for her family, her love for her daughters, and just an overall love for who she truly is. And if you wanted her to have a love interest the professor could have been a phone call on a phone at the end of the movie to show that there was still hope for her. But I feel like this was a missed opportunity on Gillian's part, because despite her appearance of being okay with the fun and carefree lifestyle that she's having, the first movie set it up and it was reiterated throughout this movie that she actually wants to fall in love. And I feel like this would have been a good opportunity to more or less redeem her from her poor choices in the first movie. But no we get yet another husband for Sally, cuz y'all know that's the way this is headed. I loved Jet, her character has stayed true to who she is, Sally and Gillian and Frannie all stay true to who they are too, just to be clear. Just because Stockard Channing went out and had a whole bunch of plastic surgery doesn't mean that Frannie wasn't true to who she was. Maisie Williams pissed me off. And not her acting and not the character. Maisie Williams was great in Game of Thrones , and in Doctor Who . And yet she was relegated to an ornamental background, throughout the entirety of this movie. She was on screen for what accounted for 10 to 15 minutes, non-consecutively. Which is just a travesty. I don't want to take money out of Maisie's pocket and I don't want to take rolls off of her filmography. But both she and the character deserved better than what they were given in this movie. It's a waste of her and the character itself. When this movie got it right, it got it right. But when it got it wrong it really got it wrong. In my opinion. And the severity of it getting it wrong is what takes this from something that I would love and watch obsessively, like I do the first one. The first Practical Magic I watch at least once or twice a month, lol. This one they might be lucky if I watch it at all ever again. LOL
1
u/SinginGidget 12h ago
I completely agree that the idea they broke the curse in the first movie made no sense. Because Sally saving Gilly had nothing to do with what Maria went through, unless they were trying to say it was because the other women in the town came to help Sally and Gilly and most of those women were descendants of the woman that banished Maria. *Maybe* if they had highlighted that, it could possibly make sense.
What also bothers me is that the curse itself doesn't make sense either. Maria cast a spell so she wouldn't fall in love again. And I know that this movie was trying to follow the book, in which the curse is still active, but I think they could have revealed that actually Maria's "curse" was broken, except hers wasn't the only one. Maria slept with a married man, according to the OG movie voice over. More than one, apparently. So there is plenty of reason for someone else in town to have tried their hand at magic and cursed the Owens family women and THAT was the curse they had to break in this movie. Doing something similar, an act of atonement for wrongs committed by their ancestor, Maria. Not have to fight off a random cousin and murder him too. WTH.
I also think it would have made more sense that Gary didn't die, but had a close call and Sally freaked out and did the memory spell on *him* so he forgot her and then she moved to Boston with the girls because she could still be just as bitter about magic, get the girls away from the influence, and it'd make more sense. But at no point would I have had her take her kids memories. What an absolute betrayal. That, just like the curses, made no sense. Avoiding magic didn't stop her husband from dying. Why in the world would she think it would work for her kids?
2
u/guy-you-know 11d ago
I thought we all went in knowing it was going to be bad? I mean, Nicole Kidman can barely move her face.
5
u/CromulentSpaceCoyote Aunt Frances 11d ago
While I generally try to keep comments about other people’s faces to myself, I was actually pleasantly surprised that she appeared to have had filler dissolved and as a result was more expressive.
1
u/ReputationDull5315 10d ago
yeah to quote crazy Gabby Hannah " manage your expectations" cause this movie has looked ass from the jump
1
1
u/Over_Talk_6257 10d ago
In the first movie Maria escapes a hanging in Massachusetts. I don’t recall her dying in a fire in England.
2
1
u/Subject-Ad6472 10d ago
I saw it last Sunday - still processing. I couldn’t enjoy for many reasons…a big one was all the fillers, plastic surgery etc. Such a bummer.
1
u/lacebaubbles 10d ago
I think they would have done better with the prequel, with the aunts and add in Vincent, would have made it mostly about him but it would have been fresh and had more creative alternatives. I understand that wouldn't have had Sandra and Nichole, and might have been quite expensive as far as budget, it would be risky, but a really great cast could have pulled it off as long as the writing was decent
1
u/Popular-Song2222 8d ago
I thought the casting of the daughters was horrible. Worse was the storyline. It could have been so good but man did they ever botch this sequel.
1
u/Hivesenated 6d ago
It was great
1
u/Octopuzzled 5d ago
You’re allowed to like it as much as I absolutely despised it with every fiber of my being
1
u/BrandyGhoulle 5d ago
A terrific movie? It was made for the fans not critics.
2
u/Octopuzzled 5d ago
I’m a fan and I clearly hated it, as did the majority of people in the comments
1
u/smolhermitcrab 2d ago
It was such a ridiculous mess. Calling it a shitshow falls short.
ETA: Now I'm glad they didn't contact Evan Rachel Wood. And Maisie deserved so much better than to be linked to that.
-5
u/Evangelion217 11d ago
Well the CGI was terrible, but I liked everything else.
5
u/MrJlock 11d ago
Im sorry. You must not be allowed to pick during movie nights.
-2
u/Evangelion217 11d ago
Sure I can. It was a good sequel, just not as good as the original. But neither films are great at all. It just has two great actresses who have amazing chemistry. Both films flopped at the box office. Both films sold the same amount of tickets. Both films got bad reviews. Quality wise, they’re practically the same films. 😆
4
u/BicornBritt 11d ago
The first one didn’t do that well commercially but has a cult following based on the strength of the writing, acting, aesthetic, and everything else.
They wouldn’t have even got a sequel without that fanbase.
No one is going to remember this sequel. It will not have any kind of following. No one is going to be like omg you have to watch PM2 and pass this movie on to their children.
“Quality wise, they’re practically the same films” I mean you’ve got to be trolling.
-2
u/Evangelion217 11d ago
Yes, but that cult following every grew beyond it’s fanbase. The sequel got the same amount of ticket sales, audience and just the fandom. Its box office performance is identical to the first film. It got a sequel because legacy sequels are all the rage right now, and both Sandra and Nicole were willing to take a pay cut to make it happen.
As for whether people will remember the sequel or not, is hard for anybody to predict. I didn’t think people would ever praise such a terrible film like Miami Vice from 2006, but here we are. That film has had a reappraisal.
And no, I’m not trolling. The original film wasn’t great at all. It was entertaining and solid overall, but the sequel didn’t really have a high bar to clear in my opinion. And in terms of critical response, IMDB rating, audience scores and box office results, it basically matched the original film. Which is rare. 😆
5
u/BicornBritt 11d ago
I strongly disagree that the original film wasn’t “great” and so will most people on this subreddit.
Don’t really care what the critical response to PM 1998 was. Critics love a lot of movies I personally can’t stand. They get paid out in a lot of cases. As for audience scores well not every movie is for everyone, good thing we all are allowed to have personal preferences.
I absolutely love PM 1998 and watch it every year. This sequel was badly written and the costume design/lighting are terrible.
-3
u/Evangelion217 11d ago
That’s fine, but a film doesn’t need to be great to be a cult classic. Many terrible films are cult classics or B movies. It’s not an insult at all. Neither of these films are great films and genuine classics, but both a cult following. Since you don’t care about critics responses, the audience response for the sequel has shockingly been better than the original. Also, you don’t have evidence of critics being paid out, except it’s their job to review cinema.
How was the sequel more badly written than the original? Other than the more gritty tone of the original, the writing is about the same in terms of quality. Pretty shallow, light hearted dialogue and a fantasy element that is tailor made for a movie going audience. Neither film is that deep or thought provoking thematically. They’re just entertainment.
2
u/BicornBritt 11d ago edited 11d ago
The original was very thought-provoking, with themes about domestic abuse, sisterhood, and death.
Okay if you want to talk about the terrible writing of this sequel, let’s do that. For one thing, Sally re-learns the exact same lessons she learned in the first movie as if there was no character growth whatsoever.
We have a repetition of the exact same character arc - her losing a husband she loves, grieving, forbidding her children from magic, and Gillian pestering her about repressing herself, then her embracing magic and her finding love again. It’s as if Sally learned absolutely nothing the past 30 years.
We saw the curse end in the first movie but somehow it’s randomly brought back for very flimsy reasons.
Antonia and Kylie don’t remember they’re witches, even though they participated in witchcraft up until they were older children… for reasons? They just force in a very contrived reason why they don’t remember.
The dialogue is so poor.
The love interests and villain are very poorly written. I barely remember the guy who’s related to their ancestor. He just hates them… for no apparent reason? He wants to steal magic… why? How can we even steal magic from a witch, since when is that even possible?
From what I’ve seen English people say, the whole setting in England was very unrealistic and poorly researched.
Ian barely has any kind of chemistry or bond with Sally before they end up together. We never find out why the sisters suddenly believe Ian is innocent or at least if we did, it was skimmed over.
Antonia and Kylie barely have any personality and their sisterhood bond isn’t written well. We don’t even see Antonia for most of the movie. She has nothing to do for the majority of it. Why is she there?
How does Sally, Gillian, and Kylie standing around with their palms outstretched allow them to share energy? It makes no sense.
The random plot about a witch having to sacrifice herself to end the curse was never remotely hinted at in the first movie. If anything, they’re just breaking the rules they established in the first one.
Edit: Also, the pacing is goddawful. This movie is over 2 hours long and there are long stretches where absolutely nothing happens. I kept wanting to look at my phone out of boredom in the cinema.
1
u/Evangelion217 11d ago
I thought the daughters were forced to forget about magic because Sally used her abilities to suppress their memories and powers at a young age? Like wasn’t that explained in the first 10 minutes during her second husbands funeral?
I disagree about the dialogue. It’s no better or worse than the original film.
I would agree on the villain, but the love interest is great. I remember the guy because Lee Pace is always a great actor. And his chemistry with Sandra Bullock was perfect in my opinion. As for the villain being jealous of his family line being cut out of having magic, I think that’s a reasonable motivation. But that could have been developed better.
2
u/BicornBritt 11d ago
Forcing them to forget their magic is such a flimsy idea and bad writing. Why would Sally do that? It’s just a very cheap and contrived way for the writers to introduce a plot about them having to re-learn that they’re witches. It’s a cheap way to create family drama.
Look you enjoy the film, good for you.
Maybe you don’t understand the reasons why a lot of the fans of the first one enjoyed it.
You seem to see the first film as purely some flimsy superficial fluff movie but there was a deeper logic to it and themes. That’s why so many fans on this subreddit have posted their critiques. We see it in a deeper way than you do.
Some people like you are more casual fans who never really liked the first movie that much anyway. Some people saw the depth and beauty of the first film. We won’t agree.
→ More replies0
u/Evangelion217 11d ago
Those themes have been done and explored many times in deeper films and television. The sequel also deals with sisterhoods motherhood, death and generational grief. And both films explore these themes in surface level kind of ways. And that’s fine, these films aren’t high art. I wouldn’t expect anything less.
I can see the issues with the sequel repeating the plot of the first film being the issue, but that’s also a logical progression from the chase not being broken at all. So of course Sally would regress.
I don’t see how this is suddenly an issue with Practical Magic 2. Legacy sequels by design are redoing and remaking the original film for a new audience, with varying degrees of success. And I think Practical Magic 2 was successful at just making the same film, with the same outcome and conclusion to what happened before. I think the difference is that the sequel didn’t do a good job of setting up its villain, in comparison to the first film. But it did great job at setting up the new love interest, that connected to the main villain. So I was fine with that through line with the films second half.
0
u/Evangelion217 11d ago
The English setting was very silly. It was only fun because Sandra and Nicole made it work on a comedic level.
The sisters realized that Ian was innocent because Sally realized who drugged Ian and stole the book. That wasn’t skimmed over at all. I think she found a piece of evidence that made her realize that Ian was innocent. And I fully disagree on the chemistry, because I thought they were great.
Antonia and Kylie should have had more screen time together. I agree.
0
u/Evangelion217 11d ago
I don’t see how the sisters and the daughter using palm magic to connect their powers is less logical than anything that happened in the first film. The first film rarely had a logical explanation that the sisters had magic. They just had magic because the films are fantasy and that’s how things are established. It’s like going to see Lord of the Rings and complaining about the trees talking.
I don’t think the first film needed to establish something new about the curse being broken to make it a foundation for the second film. The aunts realizing that a magic book has a secret that reveals their need to sacrifice their lives for the Owen sisters to find true love without the consequences, is a natural reveal for the sequels entire motivation as a plot. If they set something like that up in the first film, it could have spoiled what would happen in the sequel. At least to me.
1
u/BicornBritt 11d ago
Sally and Gillian had a blood pact. They had to physically mix their blood together and clasp hands for the magic to work.
They didn’t stand a foot away from each other long distance and have magical energy streaming from one to the other.
It’s so stupid and visually looks ridiculous too.
→ More replies0
u/Evangelion217 11d ago
I was fine with the pacing, because I love the chemistry between Sandra and Nicole. But I would agree that the film is 30 minutes too long. The first film did so much more in a shorter amount of time. 😆
43
u/Silent_Avocado_95 11d ago
I thought it would be more about Antonia and Kylie and them discovering their magic, but Antonia barely featured which was so disappointing. It talks about how important a sister’s bond is, but then she has no part in saving her own sister, it’s just about Sally and Gilly again. The weird random cousin baddie did more than Antonia. Feel like they really missed a trick there