If a hundred awkward mentions of margaritas, throwing salt over one’s left shoulder, and recycled references to the original was the goal, “Practical Magic 2” certainly achieves its mission. But for those looking for a compelling continuation of the 1998 cult classic, the sequel’s overreliance on nostalgia quickly begins to feel more like a substitute for substance.

The original “Practical Magic” followed sisters Sally (Sandra Bullock) and Gillian Owens (Nicole Kidman), two witches raised by their eccentric aunts in a small Massachusetts town. Nearly three decades later, “Practical Magic 2” returns to the multi-generational Owens family, following Sally’s daughter Kylie (Joey King) in her desperate search to reverse the family curse that kills any man who dares love an Owens woman. But apart from dragging some of the family members across the Atlantic to investigate the origin of the curse in England, “Practical Magic 2” refuses to do almost anything original with its 130-minute runtime.

Rather than trusting its audience to remember what came before, the sequel spends its opening minutes hastily reconstructing the first film’s plot. Bullock’s clunky voiceover recap becomes even more frustrating when it abruptly reveals that Gary Hallet, the police officer with whom Sally finally overcame her fear of love in the original film, is yet another victim of the curse.

Therein lies one of the sequel’s major problems: It renders the emotional arc of the previous film obsolete, impressively, all within the first 10 minutes. After Gary dies, Bullock informs the audience that Sally retreats from magic — once again — and swears off love — once again. Her daughters — Kylie and Antonia (Maisie Williams) — whose memories of their magical abilities have been wiped by their mother, are effectively reset to zero, while Sally is back to being afraid of the very powers she spent the first film learning to embrace.

The sequel’s most significant departure from the original is its attempt to drag the Owens family into the 21st century. Awkward references to modern feminism and Gen Z are about as nuanced as the truly atrocious Ninja Slushi advertisement partway through the film. “Practical Magic 2” creates a jarring collision through its determination to signal that it is a movie made for a modern audience while stubbornly clinging on to aspects of the original film’s whimsigoth appeal. The result is a thoroughly disjointed film, with costumes that resemble polyester replicas of the original ’90s wardrobe and a plot more interested in cramming in callbacks with a forced modern twist than developing an identity of its own.

Still, some remnants of the original’s charm manage to survive, particularly in the chemistry between Kidman and Bullock. Their best moments come from simple conversations and action scenes highlighting both actors’ talent for body comedy that allow the dynamic duo to fall back into the easy rhythm that made Sally and Gillian so compelling in the first place.

Unfortunately, chemistry can only carry a film so far. The dialogue does the actors no favors, with attempts at humor so labored that even comedy legend Bullock seems unable to fully commit. Simultaneously, the sequel’s insistence on taking itself too seriously strips away much of the whimsical campiness that made its predecessor so endearing.

King helps counteract this by bringing a sincerity and vulnerability to the film’s emotional center that makes her one the film’s more convincing performers — although that is as much a testament to King’s commitment as it is to the thinness of the material surrounding her. Another standout is Lee Pace, who plays occult academic Ian Wright. While his purpose and origin in the increasingly convoluted plot is never entirely clear, Ian’s presence gives the late second act a much needed jolt of energy — an unfortunately fleeting reprieve before the film returns to its downward trajectory.

For a franchise so preoccupied with sisterhood, “Practical Magic 2” has a strange way of treating its sisters. Antonia spends much of the film confined to the hospital bed of Kylie’s boyfriend (Xolo Maridueña) as her sister races to break the curse and save his life. Sidelining the character from the central conflict seems particularly misguided in a sequel that repeatedly frames Kylie and Antonia as the next generation of Owens women, only to make one sister the protagonist while reducing the other to a glorified bystander.

Ultimately, even the film’s repeated aerial shots of Harvard — where Kylie is presumably enrolled — aren’t enough to save it. “Practical Magic 2” often feels less like a sequel than three different movies fighting for control of the same story: a family melodrama, a supernatural adventure, and a nostalgic reunion tour. Each occasionally hints at the movie that could have been, but none last long enough to realize it.

—Staff Writer Sara R. Eyjolfsdottir can be reached at [email protected].