Downton Abbey majestically opened its doors once more, and the aristocratic Crawley family and their beloved staff cordially invited viewers to watch their grand debut on the silver screen. 

As soon as John Lunn’s Emmy winning theme song plays, nostalgia immerses the audience, taking them back to 1927 Britain. Downton Abbey bustles in anticipation, awaiting a visit from the King and Queen of England. 

With tons of drama and plenty of upstairs-downstairs subplots, the film looked extremely similar to a two-hour, fast-paced episode of Downton Abbey. 

The movie picked up almost right where PBS left off, making no effort to recap or provide background on the Crawley family and their staff. This was intentional on the filmmakers’ part as the movie appears created purely just for its fans.

For example, when the Dowager Countess says, “By all means, move at a glacial pace, you know how that thrills me,” fans smile at her famous sarcasm that adds to every scene.

The return of favorite characters were not the only way the producers appealed to their audience. Dynamic relationships also pandered to to the fans.

For instance, when the Countess pesters Isobel Crawley about the impending royal apperance, Violet says, “Will you have enough clichés to get you through the visit?”

Without skipping a beat, Isobel dishes it right back and says, “If not, I’ll come to you.”

If filmmakers omitted this pair’s iconic bickering, devotees would be sure to riot.

Yet even Downton die-hards may feel annoyed at the lack of substance in the feature’s elegant display. Each character makes a conscientious appearance only to disappear quickly as if those in charge merely took attendance rather than give the actors anything meaningful to do.  Director Michael Engler made an admirable attempt at fitting everything in though, and due to the substantially large cast, the bouncing from moment to moment remains understandable.

Despite the film’s fluffiness and surface-level plot, Downton fans still felt delighted to spend a few more hours in a world where manners still exist, and “bloody” is the most offensive word anyone says.