Downton Abbey (2019)

My completely biased opinion, 21 September 2019

The King and Queen come to Downton, which quite naturally leads to a lot of harried preparations and excitement - both upstairs and downstairs. 

I admit that my 9/10 is very generous and most likely overstating things a bit.  But as much as I loved the show, I cannot be unbiased. For me, Downton Abbey ticked all the right boxes.   As a fan, it’s a feel good movie from start to finish. The characters, the relationships, the majesty, the heart, the laughs (Maggie Smith is laugh-out-loud funny), the house, the music, the beauty of it all - it’s all here.  There’s no way I wasn’t going to love it.  

But, as much as I loved Downton Abbey, it’s not perfect.  First, Julian Fellowes and Company tried to do too much. There’s not enough time for all of the little plot threads the movie contains.  To cram in everything they tried to, it would have needed to be filmed as seventh season - not a two hour movie. Second, I cannot imagine going into this movie without having seen the series.  It’s not so much a movie as it is a gift to the fans. Downton Abbey isn’t really much of a standalone movie.  

As I’ve said repeatedly, for me, it’s all about entertainment.  And I was completely entertained throughout.  

9/10