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Downtown Abbey A New Era Movie Review: There is something about shows coming out and making grand returns with films. The first Downtown Abbey film was a delight that saw a sweet reunion of most of its cast and crew, and told a story that honoured the original series. In most part, Downtown Abbey: A New Era does something similar as well. It manages in being an enjoyable extension of the TV series while being a sequel, but then also suffers due to it feeling overstuffed. Top Gun Maverick Movie Review: Tom Cruise's Legacy Sequel is a Gripping, Emotional Spectacle That Honours the Original! (LatestLY Exclusive).
Downtown Abbey: A New Era is directed by Simon Curtis who replaces Michael Engler from the first film. The story here sees Downtown being glamourised as Hollywood arrives. With a film being shot there, some of the family decides to go to France in order to check out the villa they have inherited, only to find out, that it keeps some family secrets.
If you know anything about Downtown Abbey, then you would know that the cast is huge, I mean HUGE. There are a lot of key players here bouncing around, the most important of them being Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery), Robert Crawley (Hugh Bonneville) and Violet Crawley (Maggie Smith). All the cast members does a fine job at portraying their characters, especially that of Dockery and Smith.
Dockery brings a certain classiness to her role that is finely charming in its portrayal and makes her stand out from the rest of the cast. She is very open to ideas and likes taking things lightly while still maintaining a pitch of leadership. That made it very easy to relate to her. Maggie Smith on the other hand remains as sassy as ever in the role of Violet Crawley and provides for some of the best laughs of the film.
Watch The Trailer:
We also have newcomers like Dominic West portraying the role of an American actor Guy Dexter and Laura Haddock portraying that of the actress Myrna Dalgleish. West provides for another charming and rugged touch to the film that caught me off guard, and whenever he was on screen, my eyes were surely transfixed on him. He has a certain scene-stealing aura to him that I enjoyed, and it provided for some really fun moments. Aside from these standouts, the cast remains spectacular and everyone plays their role true to the essence of how we know them from the show.
While the cast does a great job, the story is unfortunately quite the mixed bag. There are a lot of moving parts here, and it often feels like an entire season of television condensed into two hours. That at time gets overwhelming as you have to keep a track of every character beat.
You have the subplot going on in France, while the other is happening in Downtown. It creates for a viewing that can often feel jarring. It feels like two movies, or a better comparison would be two episodes of the same show going on side-by-side. There is just so much to unpack here.
However, it still maintains that classic heart and charm that you would expect from Downtown Abbey. Downtown Abbey: A New Era does have its issues, but I would be lying to myself if I told you that I didn’t enjoy watching these characters again. The actors are having fun on the set and delivering their lines, and it just has that magic of keeping you in the moment. It’s a great recipe for stories that have feel-good elements to them. Stranger Things Season 4 Part 1 Review: This Is the ‘Avengers Infinity War’-Level Adventure for the Netflix Saga! (LatestLY Exclusive).
The costume design, like always, remains top notch. Everyone is dressed up perfectly here, and it feels like you’re witnessing something royal. Even the set design compliments it quite well, and it makes for a fun looking film that will have your attention.
Yay!
The Cast
Costumes and Set
Feel-Good Elements
Nay!
Can Feel Overstuffed
Final Thoughts
Downtown Abbey: A New Era was definitely a watch that I wasn’t much excited for, but still walked away glad that I watched it. In the end it creates for a feel-good tale, that at times can feel overstuffed, still maintains the heart of the property and honours it. Fans of the series will definitely walk away happy from this one.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 02, 2022 12:02 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
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