If you’re a fan of the television series or the two previous films—or both—this wrap-up is like a warm and cozy meal on a cold winter day. As with a handful of films, this one is beyond criticism in some ways. If you follow the Crawleys and Granthams and the various ups and down of their lives, you’ll greatly enjoy this film.

Nothing here is shocking, at least by 2025 standards. Creator/screenwriter Julian Fellowes has made a slightly new recipe here out of old but comfortable ingredients. Those ingredients include the living members of the cast (how they got them all together, I can only guess) and a handful of recurring conflicts: What trouble will Mary find herself into? Can Downton survive in the light of someone making bad financial decisions that threaten to turn everyone out on the streets (metaphorically of course)? And, what, pray God, is possibly going to happen to Edith this time?

Not really a spoiler alert: Because Matthew Goode is tied up with other work and since he was barely in the second film as Lady Mary’s oft-missing second husband, it looks like the scandal du jour for Mary is divorce, 1930-style. The film successfully draws us into the social and personal sturm und drang that might be exaggerated but makes the point and puts the film in first gear.

The usual “Oh, my, what a terrible financial situation we’re in!” is both a bit tired and not especially well handled. This moment of angst involved Cora Grantham’s brother, much alluded to but not seen since Season Four’s Christmas Special. With the amiable Paul Giamatti playing the brother, we might expect to see something kind or at least smart. We get neither, and his character’s presence at the Abbey and the story and trouble he brings to the house is probably the weakest part of the film.

Genuine spoiler alert: Everyone ends up in happy relationships. After all, this is Julian Fellowes at his warm and cuddly best, with a soupcon of ultimately unthreatening drama and the occasional “outrageous” comment thrown in for good measure. Of course, we are missing Fellowes’s grande dame and deliverer of the best bons mots, the inestimable Lady Grantham played by the even more amazing Maggie Smith. Her memory and near-presence permeate the film, but we are not without pithy and witty statements; they are simply spread around for many other characters to express.

The strongest aspect of the question of what is to happen to Downton is the continued evolution of Lady Mary into the strong leader we knew she would become. She has perhaps one more wrinkle, but Michelle Dockery still looks pretty much like the Mary in 2010’s Downton. (Side note: Being a film history fan and familiar with the actresses of the last 1920’s and early ’30, I can only say that the costumers hit the jackpot with Dockery, who is a tall, thin, and beautiful clotheshorse that nearly puts Kay Francis to shame.) (Second side note: The women in general look the same, and the men in general have put on the pounds.) Dockery is a better actress than is recognized and masterfully hits every emotional note the script throws her way (and there are many) all while maintaining a great lady’s dignity, not an easy task.

Viewer will be especially happy that Lady Edith, now the Marchioness of Hexham, has found her voice, and it’s a long-awaited pleasure to see.

The film, as the last entry in a much-loved series, has primarily been viewed in terms of screenplay and character. But then there are the production design and costumes, which are excellent. Perhaps the most underrated technical aspect is the cinematography, which includes the kind of smooth Steadicam work and choreography among the characters that is so polished it almost seems invisible.

It may seem quibbling to say that there is nothing new here, but that is the point. Everything is a variation on an old set of themes, with the goal of putting everything in financial and relational order…the ultimate feel-good movie. As a critic-proof film, The Grand Finale should be seen by its fans and ignored by everyone else, for which it might make little sense. The film’s pathway is predictable and a bit corny, but the acting and production values are top-notch. It’s a delightful capstone to a treasured series, and a grown-up alternative this time of year to the horror and gore this season generally puts out.Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale