Movie Review – The Devil Wears Prada 2 (2026)

The Devil Wears Prada (2006) was an entertaining movie that showed Andy Sachs’s (Anne Hathaway) personal battle with her professional principles vs what it really takes to get ahead at the influential fashion magazine Runway. It was a grounded and personal story that looked at expectations versus reality. Whereas the “journalism matters” story in The Devil Wears Prada 2 by comparison comes off as a cartoonish fantasy.

It’s been two decades since Andy’s stint at Runway magazine, and she’s become a respected journalist. As she’s about to accept an award, she and her fellow writers are fired via text. The devastating news comes because of the paper’s parent company choosing to make budget cuts. Meanwhile, Miranda Priestly (Glenn Close) comes under fire after Runway published a puff piece on a brand that used sweatshop labor. Andy and Miranda’s paths cross again when Irv Ravitz (Tibor Feldman), the owner of Runway’s parent company, Elias-Clark, goes above Miranda’s head and hires Andy as the head of features to do damage control.

The Devil Wears Prada 2’s story at times is a little too “inside baseball” looking at the innerworkings of corporate mergers and acquisitions. The movie does a fine job showing our characters in turmoil as they find their jobs on the chopping block, but the movie does wrap up this complex situation a little too conveniently with an angel investor saving the day. I know this is Hollywood storytelling, but in a day and age where job security no longer exists due to corporate greed, the story’s solution to the problem seems wildly out of touch with reality.

Even the delivery of this plot point goes into quasi-heist/spy movie territory as the characters fight for control of Runway, and an 11th hour “villain” revelation seemingly comes out of nowhere. It’s also odd that said character doesn’t seem to face any actual repercussions for their actions.

The movie calls out that Miranda’s volatile demeaner is no longer to be tolerated in the workplace after numerous HR complaints. I don’t want to turn this review into a “what the filmmakers should have done article” but that story seems far more interesting than what we got here.

The movie’s strength is found in its cast. Hathaway is still a delight as the plucky Andy, and her reconnecting with Streep, Stanly Tucci, Emily Blunt, and Kennth Branagh may be driven by nostalgia; however, their interactions are just so charming. Especially with newcomer Patrick Brammall. I could watch an entire romantic comedy focused on Andy and Peter’s relationship. Similarly, Blunt and Hathaway have such a fun relationship that unfolds throughout the movie that I just wanted to linger on their lunch date. Tucci remains the anchor for most of the characters, and the bond between him and Hathaway has never been more palpable.

I don’t question the movie’s sincerity with its message that corporate mergers and acquisitions can negatively impact creatives, but I do think it gets muddled in the movie’s manic storytelling.

The Devil Wears Prada 2 shows a level of restraint at the beginning of the movie that feels like a promising reentry to this fashion-forward world, but when all is said and done, we end up on fantasy (Manhattan) island.

Rating: 3/5.