Director: Michael Engler
Writer: Julian Fellowes
Released: September 2019
Starring: Hugh Bonneville, Jim Carter, Michelle Dockery, Elizabeth McGovern, Maggie Smith, Imelda Staunton and Penelope Wilton
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From the day Downton Abbey came on Lightbox, we have been binge watching it. We aimed to watch all six series by the time the movie came out.
We succeeded. On the final week of Downton being in cinemas, we got our $10 ticket and went!
I must say, after about a month of watching back-to-back episodes, we were a bit over it by the time we watched the movie. It was basically just another episode that started right where the finale left off.
It followed the same upstairs/downstairs troubles and triumphs, but with the backdrop of the Royals coming to stay at Downton. All the while, tying up the loose ends of the final series.
The movie was ho-hum, and plodded on in the same fashion as series 5 and 6 had (not much scandal or suspense). I think the writers had been running out of steam for some time, and the movie didn’t seem to show much difference in their creativity.
I seriously believe that the best storyline for the Downton Abbey movie would have been episode 3 in the very first series – Mr Pamuk’s scandalous death. Now that was a great episode, and that would have been a fantastic movie!
But in this movie, all the characters were as they had been and so were their circumstances.
Although, I can’t deny that the TV series and the movie are all high-quality in every way – from the acting to the costumes to the historical intricacies. It is a fantastic way to understand the era – it’s like we’re following the lives of real people of the time.
It seemed that not a single second could be spared, with our favourite characteristics of every character given their own fair-share of screen time. Maggie Smith had her famous one-liners, Mary had her sharp tongue, and Mrs Hughes kept everyone in their place!
I would recommend seeing the movie. You won’t be shocked or excited. But whether you’ve seen the series or not, there is still the human interest factor that would resonate with many.
What I wouldn’t recommend, however, is to binge-watch every episode within a month and then see the movie. Because that might make you bored of the characters and overall arching storyline…
Jodie’s rating: 6/10
What I love is that Maleficent turns into a jealousy-fuelled, hardened bitch, just like any human would if they were heartbroken. I love this about her character; it’s quite comical. It reminds me of the resentment carried by Charlize Theron in 
Particularly within the first chapter where everybody who’s helping to protect Harry takes Polyjuice potion enabling everyone in the room to look identical to Harry – a very clever and interesting behind-the-scenes piece regarding how they did this scene on the double disc version.
I’m still not convinced about the unorthodox chemistry between Harry and Ron’s sister, Ginny. No matter how many movies, it just doesn’t work for me… However, Ron and Hermione have a more realistic relationship including somewhat hilarious disagreements.
Deathly Hallows has spectacular audio and music as well as flawlessly creepy flashbacks. My favourite scene is when Hermione tells the story of the Deathly Hallows and the relevance of the Elder Wand, Resurrection Stone and Invisibility Cloak. It is so cool – like you’re in the room listening to
it, it’s the atmosphere of the film that makes it so real.
NZ Film Freak 