The Devil Wears Prada 2 review: Perfectly polished. That's all

The Devil Wears Prada 2 review: Nearly two decades later, Miranda Priestly returns as Runway fights for relevance in a digital-first media world. The sequel uses that struggle to examine how fashion, journalism and influence now bend before metrics.

In Short

• Miranda Priestly battles collapsing print revenues in new film
• Andy Sachs returns as Runway seeks a sharper digital-first editorial voice
• The world of Devil Wears Prada returns to put fashion first

Nearly twenty years after The Devil Wears Prada made a generation fear the phrase "that's all," the sequel returns to a world that has changed far more dramatically than its characters have. Directed by David Frankel, the film reunites Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci, and places them at the fault line between legacy media and a digital ecosystem that doesn’t wait for anyone, not even Miranda Priestly. Pun not intended.

Set in New York's ever-evolving fashion-media circuit, the sequel follows Priestly (Streep) as she attempts to steer Runway magazine through an unforgiving digital downturn. Print revenues are collapsing, online engagement is volatile, and the publication’s once-unchallenged authority is slipping. Andy Sachs (Anne), now an award-winning journalist, re-enters Priestly's orbit as Runway looks to recalibrate its editorial voice for a digital-first audience. Complicating matters is Emily (Emily Blunt), who is no longer an assistant, but a powerful fashion curator at a luxury brand and financial leverage could offer Runway a lifeline at a cost.

Nigel (Stanley Tucci), ever the observer, navigates this changing world with a mix of wit and resignation, offering some of the film's most grounded moments. Around them, a wider ensemble, including Lucy Liu, Kenneth Branagh, Justin Theroux and Simone Ashley, populate a world where media, money and influence are increasingly indistinguishable.

The narrative builds toward a high-stakes collaboration that could redefine Runway's future, even as it risks diluting everything it once stood for. Alliances shift, principles are tested, and the film stops short of offering easy answers, appropriately so.

What makes The Devil Wears Prada 2 compelling isn't just its return to familiar characters, but its willingness to confront an uncomfortable truth: journalism, much like fashion, is struggling to retain its identity in the digital age. Editorial decisions are quietly overridden by metrics, stories are shaped by sponsorships, and credibility becomes negotiable. The irony of a legacy publication chasing relevance in a space it once dismissed is not lost on anyone.

That said, the film’s humour is sharp, understated, and often industry-specific. But it may not land uniformly. Those attuned to the mechanics of media will catch the biting satire in throwaway lines and loaded silences. For others, the wit might feel too muted, too insider, to provoke the kind of laughter the original film delivered with ease.

At the centre of it all is Streep, who once again proves that Miranda Priestly doesn’t need volume to assert dominance. Her performance is calibrated to perfection: controlled, observant, and devastatingly precise. This is a Miranda who understands the stakes have changed, even if her standards haven’t.

Hathaway's Andy is more assured, carrying the weight of experience without losing the character's moral centre. But where the character evolves, the styling occasionally does not. For a film so invested in the language of fashion, some of Andy's looks feel surprisingly underwhelming. In Miranda Priestly's world, one can almost hear the unspoken verdict in the background: "I hope you are not wearing that tonight."

However, kudos to the team for not underplaying the age and experience of the lead stars. There is no attempt to make them look younger on-screen. The film remembers and honours that 20 years have passed since the first film.

Blunt's Emily Charlton emerges as the film’s most dynamic presence. No longer comic relief, she’s commanding, complex, and entirely at home in this new ecosystem. Her exchanges with Streep are among the film’s best, layered with tension, history, and a mutual recognition of ambition. Tucci’s Nigel continues to be the film’s quiet backbone. Among the newer additions - Simone, in particular - the performances are solid if not always fully utilised.

Visually, the film retains its polish, though it feels less indulgent than its predecessor, perhaps intentionally. Fashion is still aspirational, but there’s a noticeable shift toward practicality, mirroring an industry that now prioritises wearability and branding over spectacle.

The Devil Wears Prada 2 is less about reinvention and more about survival. Its real conflict isn't between people, but between eras: print versus digital, instinct versus data, authority versus influence. That tension grounds the film in a reality that feels uncomfortably familiar. The modern newsroom is shaped more by algorithms than reach. What gets commissioned increasingly hinges on what will be clicked, and ultimately, read. The film captures this shift with quiet precision, letting the irony sit: a legacy publication built on authority now negotiating with metrics it cannot control.

The sequel doesn't always strike the perfect balance. It struggles to balance its commentary on a rapidly shifting digital media landscape with the familiar spark of Miranda–Andy banter. The pacing can feel uneven at times, particularly as it juggles newsroom crisis with insight, and its sharpest observations about the business of magazines are often delivered too subtly to fully resonate with those who don’t understand the nuances. Yet, there’s a quiet, lingering intelligence to the film that lingers even when it doesn’t dazzle.

And Miranda? She hasn't lost her edge. She has simply learned to wield it in a world that no longer guarantees she'll be the sharpest blade in the room.

The Devil Wears Prada 2 releases in India on May 1.

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