TOWARDS the dewy-eyed conclusion of Downton Abbey, Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery) considers bidding a hearty cheerio to her ancestral home.

“What are we doing? Should we really go on with it?” she ponders aloud.

It’s a fair question, not just for the heiress apparent as she contemplates her future, but also for Michael Engler’s film, which seeks to recapture the guilty pleasure of Julian Fellowes’ TV phenomenon that chronicled the wavering fortunes of the Crawley family across six series from the sinking of HMS Titanic in 1912 to New Year’s Day 1926.

Ardent fans can unstiffen their upper lips with relief because the glassware gleams and the bone china is lustrous in this crowd-pleasing frippery of froth, which assiduously ties up loose narrative threads and unpicks a few new ones.

Fellowes serves up bite-size morsels of intrigue and romance to generate a steady trickle of conflicts, resolutions and cliffhangers.

He makes no concession to newcomers to his rarefied world and expects a passable knowledge of the characters.

His script arms Dame Maggie Smith with the lioness’ share of biting one-liners and she delivers with lip-smacking relish.

Lord Grantham (Hugh Bonneville) and his wife (Elizabeth McGovern) receive written communication from Buckingham Palace via motorcycle messenger, informing them of the arrival of King George V (Simon Jones) and Queen Mary (Geraldine James).

The visit is part of a royal tour of Yorkshire, which will reunite the King and Queen with their daughter, Mary, Princess Royal (Kate Phillips).

Preparations are in full swing when Lady Edith (Laura Carmichael) and her husband (Harry Hadden-Paton) arrive for the ceremonial parade and dinner. However, excitement is spiced with nervous anticipation because the Queen’s lady in waiting, Lady Bagshaw (Imelda Staunton), is a troublesome thorn on the Crawley family tree.

Shadowed by her maid Lucy (Tuppence Middleton), Maud proves a formidable sparring partner for the Dowager Countess (Smith) and Baroness Merton (Dame Penelope Wilton).

Downton Abbey is comfortingly and disappointingly familiar, welcoming back most of the main cast and reserving the emotional meat for a poignant final 20 minutes that might require a dainty dabbing of eyes.

RATING: 6.5/10

DAMON SMITH