REVIEW: If you're not a "Downton Abbey" aficionado, you can stop reading right now. Some TV-to-film spinoffs are made to be accessible to a mainstream, non-TV watching audience, but this big-screen continuation of the wildly popular show isn't one of those. If you're not caught up on the comings and goings at the Crawley estate, DOWNTON ABBEY will be virtually incomprehensible. The way to look at this is not as a movie at all, but rather a direct continuation of the series, as if this was just a couple of bonus episodes stuck together. It's a lot like one of the show's super-sized Christmas specials. Nothing much happens, but, if you're at all a fan of the show, this will be a welcome reunion with some old friends, none of who have changed too much. Thank God.
It borders on perverse that this is opening opposite RAMBO: LAST BLOOD, as it pits two of my favorite franchises directly against each other. If you think RAMBO fans wouldn't care about DOWNTON ABBEY, think again. The premiere I saw this with was packed with dudes, none of whom seemed to be dragged along by their dates. Heck, for me I did the dragging!
Probably the worst thing I can say about the movie is it’s as episodic as anything we’ve seen so far, and in the pantheon, it’s not even among the more scintillating installments. Nothing huge happens, with it a bit too neatly divided into two halves, the first dealing with a potential assassination threat on the king, allowing Irish republican supporter Tom Branson (Allen Leech) to have some divided loyalties. The second half focuses mainly on the downstairs group resenting the king’s staff coming in to order them around, resulting in what might be best described as light treason.
Given the number of characters, no one gets any particular emphasis, with very little for Hugh Bonneville and Elizabeth McGovern’s Lord and Lady Grantham to do. If anyone upstairs gets their moment in the sun, it’s the roguish Branson and Michelle Dockery’s Lady Mary, who’s coming into her own as the real brains behind the estate. Maggie Smith is typically acid-tongued as the Dowager countess, but she’s also off-screen for chunks of the film.
The downstairs contingent fares better, with Jim Carter’s Carson and Phyllis Logan’s Ms. Hughes getting the most to chew on, with Carson pressed back into service following retirement, although Robert James-Collier’s fan-favorite Barrow gets the juiciest subplot and a rare happy ending – or least as happy as it can be given the era. For me, the biggest disappointment is how little Brendan Coyle’s Mr. Bates figures into the plot, as he was always my favorite, although Joanne Froggatt’s always ingenious Anna gets some good material.
As typical for the show, the production values are lavish, with them benefitting nicely from the leap to the big screen, although like “Game of Thrones” the show always looked good enough that it could have been shown theatrically and no one would have thought anything of it.
Given the fact that so many beloved characters get short-shifted and that nothing happens, you would think that would mean that DOWNTON ABBEY was ultimately a disappointment on the big screen. Here’s the thing – it’s not. It’s just such a pleasant world to be in that even if it’s not perfect, two hours back in this world is better than nothing, and you’re grateful with what you do have. While I’m not sure it works as a film and it certainly doesn’t stand on its own, it can’t be denied fans of the show will eat this up. I sure did, and as always I’m eager for a revisit. Hopefully, enough fans turn out to get us another trip back to Downton.