I went into the cinema with low expectations. The first The Devil Wears Prada was iconic, after all.
How do you even try to top that?
But Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway both signed on for the sequel, and they're actors who don’t just say yes to anything.
So I figured, at the very least, it couldn’t be bad.
The premise was promising.
The first film came out in 2006, so now, 20 years later, what has happened to Miranda Priestly, Andy Sachs, Nigel, and Emily?
The movie wastes no time answering that.
plot AND PACE
Within the first five minutes, you already get a sense of where things have landed (at least for the first three).
The story moves quickly. It’s fast-paced, and I found myself going “OMG” more than once.
Yes, there are some predictable turns, but there were also moments I thought would go one way that surprised me by going another.
What I loved about the first film—and what made it so universally loved—is that even non-fashion people like me could relate to it.
It was, at its core, a transformation story.
Andy, the girl who knew nothing about fashion, evolving into someone confident, stylish, and unexpectedly excellent at her job.
There’s no real transformation arc like that in the sequel, so I’m not sure it will hit the same way for everyone.
But I can honestly say I found this film just as engaging as the first one.
In fact, in some ways, it had an even greater impact on me.
Maybe because it hit closer to home.
I used to be in publishing. I was there during the shift from print to digital.
And this movie captures that change in a way that feels very real.
Magazines getting thinner because ad pages are down. The pressure to publish multiple stories a day instead of once a month.
Knowing exactly how many people are reading what you write—page views, engagement, all of that becoming more important than copies sold.
And the very real risk of getting “cancelled” for one wrong judgment call.
MAIN CHARACTERS
Miranda, who was so untouchable in the first film, still holds power, but she’s different now. Older, yes, but also more aware of the world she’s operating in.
Andy, who walked away from Runway at the end of the first movie, has built a career as a serious, award-winning journalist and somehow finds herself being pulled back into that world again.
Nigel, played by Stanley Tucci, is still there.
Emily is still Emily, and still just around the corner. She is played again by Emily Blunt.
What the movie does well is show women who are ambitious, talented, passionate, and still figuring things out as they go.
It talks about change, and how sometimes you have to go with it, but also how important it is to know what parts of yourself you want to hold on to.
It touches on friendship, relationships, loyalty—all the things that get tested when careers and personal lives collide.
WHAT TO EXPECT
Without giving anything away, some of the most powerful scenes come from the relationships: Nigel and Andy, Emily and Andy, and even Miranda in moments where you see a different side of her.
These are characters we’ve known for years, and watching how they’ve grown—and, in some ways, softened—hits differently now.
There are also thoughtful callbacks to the first film—familiar scenes, the same soundtrack, even small details that fans will immediately recognize.
In fact, watch for a more stylish comeback of the famous cerulean sweater.
What really affected me, though, was how the movie dealt with change. Having been in publishing, I’ve seen what happens when an industry evolves faster than the people in it.
The powerful, untouchable editors eventually have to adapt. They become more accommodating, more collaborative simply because there’s no other way forward.
And while that evolution brings wisdom, it also comes with a quiet kind of loss. You see and feel it in this movie.
It has fewer laughs than the first, but more heart and insight.
The Devil Wears Prada 2 is reflective, a little bittersweet, and unexpectedly empowering.
I walked out of the cinema feeling very satisfied and a little bit pensive.
If you loved the original, watch this with an open mind. Don’t compare too much.
Just let it be what it is.
And if you’ve ever had to evolve, let go, or find your place again in a changing world, you might find that this movie resonates more than you expect.
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