If you’ve been scanning Devil Wears Prada 2 reviews trying to decide whether this sequel deserves your time,  here’s my honest take.

Nearly 20 years after Miranda Priestly made us fear a whisper, the film arrives with a lot to prove and more nerve than I expected. I walked in braced for polished nostalgia and walked out with something harder to shake.

This isn’t the glossy, triumphant comeback the trailers sell. It’s darker, messier, and oddly more honest about what it means to hold power in a world that’s moved on. Not the film the original was but a braver one than it had any reason to be. 

What is The Devil Wears Prada 2 About?

It’s about what happens when the empire starts cracking. Andy Sachs is back not as a fumbling assistant but as a seasoned journalist, freshly laid off via group text and recruited to Runway as its new Features Editor. 

Miranda Priestly, still impossibly composed, is quietly fighting to keep the magazine alive in a dying print landscape. The only person with the capital to save it is Emily Charlton, now a luxury brand executive, who is, understandably, not thrilled about being asked for a favour. 

Directed by David Frankel and written by Aline Brosh McKenna, the same duo behind the original, it’s in cinemas now and runs at a breezy two hours. 

Direction & Storytelling

Frankel brings competence, but not magic. The pacing is clean, the structure is sound, three women, one magazine, a ticking clock but the film never finds the kinetic energy the original had in its best moments. 

Subplots get introduced and quietly abandoned, and there’s a stretch in the middle where things coast on character goodwill rather than anything genuinely sharp. 

What he does get right is tone. This is a darker, grittier film than its predecessor, a world where even the most powerful are scrambling to stay relevant. That shift feels earned. 

Less so: a grey, flat visual palette that drains the glamour from a story that’s literally about the beauty of fashion. Runway should look like it costs something. 

Devil Wears Prada 2 Reviews & Performances

The performances are the best thing here, full stop. Meryl Streep is doing career-level work, this Miranda isn’t the untouchable dictator of 2006, she’s that same woman, older and afraid, and Streep makes you feel every inch of that shift without ever announcing it. There’s a scene two-thirds through where a crack of vulnerability shows and it’s the most compelling moment in either film.

Anne Hathaway slots back into Andy with ease; warmer now, more assured. Their dynamic has matured from terrorised assistant and terrifying boss into something more interesting: two people who understand each other just enough to still frustrate each other completely. 

Emily Blunt is having the best time, playing Emily Charlton’s evolution from stressed first assistant to polished executive with a dry precision that generates most of the film’s laughs. 

Tucci as Nigel is warm, funny, and slightly underused; as always. Of the new cast, Simone Ashley as Miranda’s new first assistant registers most strongly. Her scenes with Streep hint at a dynamic the film doesn’t have time to fully explore, and I wanted more.

devil wears prada 2

Writing & Screenplay

The script is sharpest when it commits to its central theme; the collapse of print media and Runway’s dependency on the very people it once dismissed. 

The dialogue has real bite in these moments. But too many subplots are raised and half-resolved, a romantic arc for Andy, a scandal that never quite lands and unlike the original, there’s no single scene that stops the story cold and makes you think. No cerulean moment. 

The observations are there; they just never crystallise into something you’ll carry home. The callbacks to the first film are mostly well-judged, but when the film leans on them too heavily it starts borrowing confidence it hasn’t fully earned.

Visuals, Music & Technical Craft

Costume designer Molly Rogers (replacing Patricia Field) delivers genuinely excellent work, Miranda’s wardrobe in particular has a new, slightly eccentric edge that tells you exactly who she’s become without a word of dialogue. 

The cinematography, however, is the film’s real weak spot. That grey, low-contrast look that’s become standard for prestige content drains the story of the visual richness it needs. The Milan sequences fare better. 

Lady Gaga and Doechii’s original song “Runway” lands well in the trailers; inside the film, it’s a brief but well-placed moment.

What Works & What Doesn’t

What works

The performances, the central premise, the willingness to let these characters actually age. The Miranda-Emily dynamic is brilliant. The film’s darker undertone is more interesting than a crowd-pleasing reset would’ve been.

What doesn’t

Abandoned subplots, flat visuals, and the absence of any scene that becomes part of cultural memory. It’s satisfying at the moment but doesn’t leave you with much to carry home. The film has the instincts of a brave movie inside the body of a safe one.

Who Should Watch It?

Fans of the original will find genuine joy in it, go in with realistic expectations and you’ll likely leave happy. If you work in media, journalism, or fashion, there’s a bittersweet resonance here that lands differently. It’s not for anyone expecting a reinvention. It’s for people who love these characters, and on that level, it delivers.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. Is The Devil Wears Prada 2 worth watching?
Yes, especially for fans of the original; though it leans darker and more reflective rather than nostalgic. 

2. Is The Devil Wears Prada 2 better than the original?
No, it’s not as iconic or culturally sharp, but it’s arguably more mature and emotionally layered. 

3. What is The Devil Wears Prada 2 about?
It explores the decline of print media, with Miranda struggling to save Runway and Andy returning as a seasoned journalist. 

4. Who directed The Devil Wears Prada 2?
David Frankel, the director of the original film, returns. 

5. Who wrote The Devil Wears Prada 2 screenplay?
Aline Brosh McKenna, who also wrote the first film. 

6. How long is The Devil Wears Prada 2?
Approximately two hours. 

7. Who should watch The Devil Wears Prada 2?
Fans of the original and viewers interested in media, fashion, and character-driven drama. 

Final Verdict & Rating

The Devil Wears Prada 2 is a good film pretending it’s comfortable being a great one. The performances are exceptional, the premise is smarter than it sounds, and the script has genuine ambition but also real hesitation, which costs it. 

I left with complicated feelings, which is more than most legacy sequels manage. It’s made with intelligence and affection, and in 2026, that already puts it ahead of a lot.

Rating: 3.5 / 5

The September issue may be thin enough to floss with. But there’s still something worth reading inside.