Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale first reviews are in - and its early Rotten Tomatoes score has been revealed
It looks like the film will deliver a fitting conclusion for long-time fans.
We're just over a week out from the release of Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale – and reviews have started to roll in ahead of the final chapter's cinema debut.
The good news for fans is that all the early signs point to the film being a fitting conclusion to the long-running period drama saga, with most of the early notices landing firmly on the positive end of the spectrum.
Indeed, on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes the film is currently sitting at 89 per cent based on 19 reviews – an impressive score that indicates the overwhelming majority of critics are on board.
Despite this overall consensus, it's perhaps worth noting that a good number of these positive reviews are fairly muted, with the film receiving 3 stars from a number of UK newspapers including The Independent, The Guardian and The Daily Telegraph rather than more glowing 4 or 5-star reviews.
Meanwhile, the film has received negative reviews from The Times and The Evening Standard – awarded just 2 stars by both the publications.
That said, the overall verdict so far suggests that the film should go down a treat with long-term fans of the series, with much praise for the way the film taps into nostalgia for the series. It's also being lauded for offering satisfying farewells to the characters who have been so adored by millions of fans both in the UK and overseas.
The Grand Finale is the third film spin-off from the hugely popular ITV drama. It follows previous movies in 2019 and 2022, and sees a huge number of stars reprising their roles – including Michelle Dockery as Lady Mary Talbot, Hugh Bonneville as Robert Crawley and Jim Carter as Charlie Carson to name just three.
Oscar nominee Paul Giamatti also reprises his role as Harold Levinson more than a decade after his one and only previous appearance back in the 2013 Christmas special. Meanwhile, Joely Richardson, Alessandro Nivola and Simon Russell Beale are among the big names set to make their Downton debuts in the final chapter.
The film follows the Crawley family and their staff as they enter the 1930s, with the official synopsis teasing: "When Mary finds herself at the centre of a public scandal and the family faces financial trouble, the entire household grapples with the threat of social disgrace.
"The Crawleys must embrace change as the staff prepares for a new chapter with the next generation leading Downton Abbey into the future."
We also know the film will pay tribute to the late, great Maggie Smith, who memorably played Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham, in the series and the two previous films.
Speaking on Virgin Radio UK last November, Hugh Bonneville explained that "we obviously say goodbye to Dame Maggie, which was very poignant on screen and now in real life".
He added: "She’ll be sorely missed. But the final film will obviously be a great lasting tribute to her."
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale will be released in UK cinemas on 12th September 2025. All seasons of Downton Abbey are available to stream on ITVX.
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Authors
Patrick Cremona is the Senior Film Writer at Radio Times, and looks after all the latest film releases both in cinemas and on streaming. He has been with the website since October 2019, and in that time has interviewed a host of big name stars and reviewed a diverse range of movies.
