That's really all I have to say. I could sit here and enumerate a dozen, if not more, reasons why this movie profoundly lacks the magic of the first one, but I find myself a little exhausted after being disappointed by it. I still rate it a 6/10. It was a good watch. Lots of over the top gore and anime style action. However, the movie seems keen on cramming in all these new characters with powers, and in the end it sort of invalidates the original girl's powers as a whole. If everyone is special, then no one is special.
Too many little stories are crammed into the runtime of this movie, and I think that's where it inevitably fell short. The acting, cinematography, etc, is all absolutely stunning from a visual standpoint. I think it was really just the overall script that held it back from capturing that same lightening in a bottle as the first movie.
I kept asking myself "who are these people?" "Wait, why are these two people fighting?" "Why isn't she already butchering everyone?"
What I really and truly hope for, is that now that this lore and origin story is out of the way, that the third movie will hit with a massive bang, and really justify the existence of the second movie.
If you liked the first movie, you might be a little let down by this one. Maybe not. I was, but I'm still looking forward to the third and final movie.