Miranda Priestly Is Back — But Is She Really?

Two decades after the release of the original, The Devil Wears Prada 2 was an understandably successful theatrical release, making around $233.6M worldwide in its opening weekend. Going into it, many were skeptical after the trailer failed to wow most of us—but apparently that didn’t stop everyone from seeing it anyway, me included.

And honestly, it makes sense for such a beloved movie not to be deterred by an uninviting trailer. The Devil Wears Prada was iconic, to say the least, and one of the only films of its kind, so a sequel—even after 20 years—made sense for the filmmakers and for the fans.

The question is, was it actually a good film, or just one that pulled us in by our nostalgic heartstrings? I suppose it all comes down to who’s watching.

What We Loved

Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway really commanded the film, possibly even more so than in the original. Their reverse chemistry and underlying care for one another shine here, and it’s one of the reasons it’s a watchable film for everyone—even those who haven’t seen the first. And even though he played a side role in both films, I thought Stanley Tucci had one of the strongest performances. But then again, I love him in everything (especially The Hunger Games).

In addition to the iconic performances, the film did another very important thing right—it gave us great fashion. Being a film about fashion, failing at this could have been what ruined the franchise, but luckily, they knew what they were doing. Even though Anne Hathaway’s character previously left Runway, the fashion magazine, to pursue other journalistic paths, she was still dressed to perfection throughout the entire film. It shows that her time at Runway really did teach her something, which felt true to her character—and was also really fun to watch. As someone with absolutely no sense of style, I think I might have even learned a thing or two.

The tone of the film was pretty similar to the first, which seemed to work. After twenty years, many of the dynamics had to change, but they still managed to keep the core cast’s dynamic witty and sharp. The script felt fresh, while still managing to weave in some nostalgic moments here and there.

What Wasn’t as Lovable

Lately, I’ve been having a hard time finding a movie with a story that really wows me, so this might be a hot take—but I just thought it could have been better. There were twists that felt like they were thrown in purely to shock the audience, and romance arcs that were similarly tossed in without much purpose.

On that note, Anne Hathaway’s romantic interest from the first film, Adrian Grenier, was not brought back for the sequel despite being open to it—and I think that was a mistake. The first film ended with them reconnecting after her time at Runway created some turmoil in their relationship, and the door was definitely left open for things to continue. I suppose the filmmakers felt it didn’t make sense for her character to still be with the same partner twenty years later—and that’s exactly why I think they should have kept them together. In a world where it’s all too common for relationships to end and people to move on, it couldn’t hurt for one of these nostalgic films to let a good couple stay together.

Another issue I had was with what they did to Meryl Streep’s character, Miranda Priestly. The title of the film revolves around her being a “devil” in a sense—her harsh personality and steel backbone—but the sequel stripped almost all of that away. The only time she showed any hint of her old self was in scenes with Hathaway’s character, Andy. Otherwise, she seemed to simply accept everything thrown at her. I understand they wanted to show that the world has changed, that fashion and magazines have changed—but I think they could have kept her character intact through all of it. Age alone isn’t a good enough reason for a character to go soft; if anything, it should have made her stronger.

Themes

I did enjoy the way the film captured how journalism and other industries have transformed since the early 2000s. Where we once received a monthly magazine in the mail, we now scroll through content online, sometimes for free. For a film centered on a fashion magazine, it would have felt disconnected if everything were still operating the same way as before. Seeing the real impact of our evolving media landscape on these industries was one of the more grounding elements of the film.

Another strong theme was watching how ambition shifts across different stages of life. In the first film, Andy wanted to be a journalist so badly that she was willing to work for a demanding boss at a magazine she had no passion for. Twenty years later, she achieved that dream—but was she actually happy? Or did she come to realize that ambition isn’t always as straightforward as it once seemed?

The Verdict

All in all, the film landed well with both critics and general audiences, earning a 78% on Rotten Tomatoes, an A- CinemaScore, and a “generally favorable” Metacritic score.

 It’s certainly not a bad film—and I’d argue it’s better than most of the nostalgic sequels we’ve been handed in recent years. But I can’t say it will go down in history as one of my favorite movies of all time.