Downton Abbey: A New Era

Fans of the tv show and earlier film will get the most out of this, with plenty of dangling plot threads deftly picked up and woven into a satisfying series of resolutions.

There's plenty of strongly emotional moments here. It plays like one of the Christmas specials but more so, and combines an appropriately high stakes 19th century historical family mystery with an examination of an industry on the cusp of a revolution, as metaphor for Downton and the Crawleys doing their best to survive in a changing world. Hints are given how they will manage it.

This is not the place to start with Downton, and the movie assumes wise viewers know that. With so many characters, with so much history, the audience are given not so much introductions as little reminders.

As is traditional, Maggie Smith gets most of the best lines, but there are no weak performances. There's even a scattering of wisdom here and there among the drollery and drama.

I always try and avoid watching trailers or other spoilers for movies that I know I am going to watch, so this film was much more engrossing and emotional than I expected it to be!

It is definitely worth seeing in the cinema, as the cinematography, music and sound is very well done and best experienced on a grand scale.

Overall, it makes a nice change to see such a nice pleasant film and a change from the usual generic super hero movie.

Downton Abbey has achieved another goal: it stands on its own in film cinema , as well as in television series production.

For those who have followed the series from the beginning will not be disappointed with the latest offering of Downton Abbey "A New Era"! Julian Fellows is a very clever writer . Both upstairs and downstairs. A delightfully charming British drama.

Downton Abbey continues to prove that perfection in music composition(The music score in this movie by John Lunn with the Downton theme is sublime) , writing, acting, wardrobe, directing, producing, cinematography, set design, location and casting, and in the finest attention to the minutest detail and period accuracy.

If you're a Downton fan there is no way that you can miss this film! It unashamedly pulls at the heart strings as the story takes you on a journey of highs & lows with some unexpected turns.

Lovely to see the cast back again. Script and acting as good as ever. But this film was spoiled for me by the choice of director. In my opinion he just doesn't understand the essential appeal of the piece. Cut, cut, cut.......formulaic and totally out of keeping with the Downtown magic. Such a shame.he has turned this into just any old film rather than embracing the Downton feel. The whole thing feels a bit like a pastiche. Pace is all wrong and it lacks the period feel of both the tv series and the previous film. The whole effect is rather mechanical and lacking in charm which is a real pity.

The plot interweaves two stories - one is an intriguing surprise about Lady Violet's past, the other is a more standard "new things happening at Downton", but at least it's better than the visit of the King and Queen that passed for a plot in the first movie.

Several characters have a fitting closure - Molesley's was a bit of a surprise, but not too forced; ditto for Barrow.

Acting is good as usual, and the new characters fit in nicely with the tried-and-tested cast. Scenography is top notch.

I'd definitely recommend it for fans of the TV series, and for those who were disappointed by the first movie.