*Possible Spoilers Ahead
The first time that I watched The Devil Wears Prada, I was enthralled. The whole concept was amazing: the fashion, the plot, all of it left me wanting more. That opportunity wouldn’t come until five years later, with the release of the Devil Wears Prada 2, which I watched with my friends on May 7th.
I’ll be honest, I didn’t have the highest of hopes for the movie. I mean the original was great, but when has a movie sequel ever been done successfully? (minus the entire Harry Potter series) But I walked out of the theater with the satisfaction only a good movie can give you plus the joy of an unruined sequel to my all time favorite movie. The first thing I was happy about was that it wasn’t a total repeat of the first movie. Looking at you, Mean Girls 2. I felt that it had a well established plot that involved new characters as well as returning ones. Moreover, I liked the plot twist, and Emily’s role, because it was a complete 180 from her manner in the previous movie. Next, I liked that they didn’t use a bunch of cheesy bad jokes to try to appeal to Gen Z, and though there were a painful few I had to sit through, it was manageable and didn’t ruin the whole movie.
Though I wish that I could stop it here, every movie has its cons and these are mine. First, I didn’t like the change in Miranda’s character. Say that it was situation-based all you want, but Miranda Preistly herself would never sit unhappily through meetings and would never think to hang up her own coat, unless of course she got a personality transplant that somehow went unmentioned. Next, I didn’t like the “Netflixification” of the lighting. Let me explain: it’s an unofficial fact that movie lighting has had massive changes since the early two thousands, due to improvements in technology and cameras. However, these changes often result in overcorrected lights, making characters and objects appear dull and grey, removing the visual appeal seen in many older films, comparison below.
Overall, the second The Devil Wears Prada 2 was a hit in my book, and though I believe it could have used some minor changes, it made me feel transported into the offices of runway just by sitting in a theater and watching, which is ultimately the desired goal for any movie.