Downton Abbey

It's 1927. The Royals are coming. They plan to spend overnight at Downton while on their tour. The downstairs grow frustrated as they are pushed aside by the Royal servants. Lady Mary recruits back retired Mr. Carson. She is also concerned about Tom's Republican views as she organizes the parade. This is a nice continuation of the beloved TV show. This is great for all its fans. It won't be quite as compelling for everybody else but I doubt those people would watch this anyways. The only thing I missed is the opening with the dog. I see the cinematic nature of this film but I would have loved to see the same opening. It's great to visit Downton once again.

Then you'll like also the movie! Of course if you see only the movie probably you'll say this is a boring movie without an intense screenplay! And probably you'll be right! But this is not a movie! This is a celebration of downton abbey and the characters we've loved! You will feel nostalgia! So if you want to see an extra long episode of your favorite tv show go to the cinema!

Downton Abbey (2019) was directed by Michael Engler. We loved Downton Abbey as a TV show. The film is like two more episodes of the show. A few new characters, but mostly everyone that we knew before is back.

Michelle Dockery as Lady Mary is still beautiful, Maggie Smith is still fabulous, and Jim Carter as Mr. Carson is still the world's most perfect butler.

The film assumes that you know the characters, so there's not much backstory. It's fine if you do, indeed, know who everyone is both upstairs and downstairs. Only a few new characters are introduced, so you can sort them out pretty quickly.

We saw the movie at Rochester's excellent Little Theatre. It won't work quite as well on the small screen. However, don't forget that we all originally watched the show on the small screen. Still, director Engler has some great outdoor shots, which make the production values appear even more lush.

Downton Abbey has a very high IMDb rating of 7.9. I gave it a 7.0, because I thought that director Engler could have had more creative, better plots. It's still a must-see if you're a Downton Abbey fan. If you're not familiar with the show, learn some of the basic plot lines before you watch the film.

I have to say it's everything I had hoped for as a fan of the series. I'll try to stay spoiler free here, but all the favorite cast members get a new arc or a continuation of where we left them. From Lady Mary to Branson to Mosely, the gang's all here. The new cast additions liven it up, from the Royal staff to Princess Mary to a nice performance from Imelda Staunton, who's playing a role far removed from Umbridge as Grantham cousin Lady Bagshaw, another foil for Maggie Grace.

Go see it, please. If it does well enough we may get another one!

I'm a keen fan of Downtown Abbey as a Television Drama so I find it difficult to rate or critique Downton as a Cinema release.

Why? You may ask. I enjoyed the movie to a point because Ive also enjoyed the 52 episodes of the 6 series on television . However I don't really think it makes a great movie transfer although it's entertaining and enjoyable.. It has all the high quality wit and sumptuous surroundings of the original TV series and creator Julian Fellowes is a master of portraying the Upstairs/Downstairs world of the Aristocracy and the snobbery from both sides of the divide.

No spoilers from me other than anybody who saw the trailer knows the entire movie centres around a Royal visit to Downton Abbey from King George V and Queen Mary.

All the usual performances are as good as in the Television production but I really enjoyed the addition of Geraldine James as Queen Mary and Imelda Staunton as Lady Bagshaw cousin to the Dowager Countess Violet Crawley played beautifully as usual by Maggie Smith .

Anyone who enjoyed the Downton Abbey series will surely enjoy making acquaintance with all their favourite characters again but I'm not sure the big Cinema screen didn't make them seem more like soapy cardboard cut outs at times.

PS. As Mathew Goode heads the cast list on IMBd I expected to see more of him than just a walk on at the end, most disappointed as I think he would have made Lady Mary Crawley played by Michelle Dockery happier and less austere and irritating.