Director: David Frankel
Starring: Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, Justin Theroux, Kenneth Branagh, Stanley Tucci
Certificate: 12A
Run Time: 119 mins

The Devil Wears Prada 2 is the long-awaited sequel to the 2006 original starring Meryl Streep as Miranda Priestly, the tyrannical editor-in-chief of the fictional Runway fashion magazine. Set two decades after the events of the first film, this sequel once again follows Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway) who having been an assistant in the previous film, is now a respected New York City reporter. When her entire newsroom is abruptly laid off by text during an awards ceremony (yes, the sad reality of today’s publishing world), Sachs finds herself working back under Priestly as features editor. Nigel Kipling (Stanley Tucci) continues to remain Priestly’s right-hand, who explains that print is declining and the brand has been forced to embrace online clickbait pieces and short-form social content – again, another sad reality of today’s journalism. And Andy also encounters Emily Charlton (Emily Blunt), who was also Miranda’s assistant in the first film, who’s now a senior executive at Dior. But when the future of Runway is under threat once management consultants are brought in to recommend cost cuts, they all have to fight for the magazine’s survival.

Although it lacks the lightning-in-a-bottle energy of the original, The Devil Wears Prada 2 is a solid sequel. It barrels along at a brisk pace, with excellent performances across the board once again. Although it’s not subtle, I admired its scathing view of the publishing industry – from having to pander to advertisers and judging an article (depressingly labelled as ‘content’) by its metrics. By exploring these themes, that means this sequel doesn’t simply follow the same beats of the original.

Anne Hathaway is once again brilliant as Andy, and while she was an aspiring journalist in the first film, now has a real likeable confidence. Meryl Streep is also excellent as Priestly, who’s mellowed a little, thanks to a more politically correct culture at the workplace. While she would dump her coat on her poor assistant’s desks and generally be very unpleasant, Priestly now has to more carefully navigate the modern world, and it’s fascinating to watch. Stanley Tucci and Emily Blunt are both entertaining, but aren’t given as much to work with, and newcomers Justin Theroux (who seems to thrive being in legacy sequels after starring in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice) and Kenneth Branagh get some fun moments.

The Devil Wears Prada 2 is a worthy sequel and admirable in that it doesn’t simply rely on the tropes of its predecessor. With fun performances and fast pacing, it’s good to see the gang back together again as they navigate the changing and volatile world of journalism.