6.4 | / 10 |
| Users | 0.0 | |
| Reviewer | 3.5 | |
| Overall | 3.5 |
Miranda Priestly navigates her career amid the decline of traditional magazine publishing. She faces off against Emily Charlton, her one-time assistant, now a high-powered executive for a luxury group, with advertising dollars that Priestly desperately needs.
Starring: Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, Stanley Tucci, Kenneth Branagh| Drama | Insignificant |
| Comedy | Insignificant |
| Romance | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1
French: Dolby Digital Plus 7.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: DTS 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
German: Dolby Digital Plus 7.1
Italian: Dolby Digital Plus 7.1
Czech: Dolby Digital 5.1
English SDH, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Digital copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (B, C untested)
| Movie | 3.5 | |
| Video | 5.0 | |
| Audio | 5.0 | |
| Extras | 2.5 | |
| Overall | 3.5 |
There was a special kind of magic that suffused The Devil Wears Prada, and in that regard it's maybe a little surprising that it took twenty years for some creatives to try to recreate that spell, or at least something adjacent to it. And as some wise if troubled man once said, "ay, there's the rub", because despite a game and undeniably winning cast and a plot that attempts to address a radically different media landscape than the one portrayed in the original film (as fictional as it obviously was), there's a feeling of "trying too hard" that permeates the film, at least at times. In terms of reintroducing the by now well loved (or in one or two cases, tolerated) characters, Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway) is at a New York City journalism awards ceremony, where she's both feted with a trophy and informed via text she's been fired, along with her entire cohort at the gala. Miranda Priestley (Meryl Streep) is up next, still putatively in charge of Runway, though her imperious temperament has been quelled, at least somewhat, by both employee complaints to HR and a badly sourced report in the magazine (now surviving mostly due to its digital version's "clickbait" articles) that celebrated a fashion house using sweatshop labor.


The Devil Wears Prada 2 is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of 20th Century Studios and Disney / Buena Vista with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. Captured with the Arri Alexa 35 and finished at 4K (both data points courtesy of the IMDb), this is another fantastic looking 1080 presentation at least ostensibly from the Mouse House, though this is a case where I would definitely recommend fans of the film who have the appropriate equipment to opt for Disney's 4K release with its HDR / Dolby Vision grades. Fine detail throughout is quite impressive, especially in such salient items as textures on fabrics and the like, and while both detail levels and maybe especially palette see improvements in 4K, the SDR palette is impressive on its own merits. There are some really beautiful pops of color throughout the story ranging from Miranda's flowing red gown early in the film to some really evocative blues and greens, at least in the backgrounds, in some of the outdoor location photography. Digital grain has been rather sparingly "applied", which to my eyes provides a much more pleasant viewing experience than having things "slathered" on. I sometimes prefer the 1080 SDR editions of some films that have overly elaborate digital grain or which were shot on film and may exhibit almost swarm like grain fields, but in this case the finesse of the digital grain may be another point in favor of the 4K UHD presentation.

As they tend to do, Disney features a DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track on this 1080 disc, with a Dolby Atmos track on their 4K disc. I frankly wouldn't argue there's a huge difference between them, though I've documented a couple of examples of clear differences in my The Devil Wears Prada 2 4K Blu-ray review . The DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track offers really beautifully designed surround activity that is evident from the get go even with music blaring under the opening credits, as several uses of traffic noises either pan or suddenly erupt from a discrete channel (as when a scooter almost runs into Andy early on). The glut of both urban and outdoor material provides a lot of ambient background surround activity, and a late montage leading up to and then including the "big runway show" has excellent immersion. Dialogue is rendered without any issues. Optional subtitles in several languages are available.


Heidi Klum is just one of several real life celebrities who show up in quasi-cameos throughout The Devil Wears Prada 2, and some may want to borrow one of her more famous coinages from "another" Runway when assessing this sequel. Despite obvious efforts to update things, a lot of this follow up may strike viewers as being too "matchy matchy" to the first, which can only make this seem at times like, well, a department store knockoff rather than a couture creation. Still, I can't imagine fans of the first film not enjoying this one at a baseline. Technical merits are solid and the supplements appealing. With caveats noted, Recommended.