Fifty Shades Darker

Starring: Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan, Eric Johnson, Bella Heathcote, Kim Basinger, Marcia Gay Harden, Eloise Mumford, Luke Grimes, Victor Rasuk, Max Martini, Rita Ora
Directed by: James Foley
Rating: R
Genre: Drama, Romance
2017

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Anastasia (Dakota Johnson) and Christian (Jamie Dornan) continue their story as forces around them conspire to end their relationship.

Review:
Tim: Well, Fifty Shades of Grey wasn't a very good movie. It's not surprising that Fifty Shades Darker is even less effective. We're now 2/3 of the way through this trilogy and it still feels like so little happens in any of these movies. There's very little that is truly memorable about this film. We check in on Anastasia and Christian, follow their relationship. It felt like there was less of the BDSM scenes than in the first one. This movie ends much stronger than the last one did, but the film as a whole simply felt less effective.

We spend much of the movie peering into Christian's background. I suppose these scenes are somewhat enlightening, so we get to understand the motives of this character better. I'm not sure there were any really shocking revelations, it was more of what you'd expect. Still, I guess the film deserves some credit for trying to develop its characters. Honestly, for a two hour movie, I'm surprised how little happens. I'm trying to highlight different aspects of the story, but there's not much to say. The whole sexual assault thing was interesting I suppose, especially how Christian can leverage his unimaginable wealth to accomplish whatever he wants. The whole troubled girl from Christian's past seemed a bit lackluster. The helicopter sequence was kind of the big moment for the film, but even that was surprisingly devoid of real tension. This was just another film in this franchise that suffers from poor writing.

I suppose Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan are even more comfortable this time around. Their characters are at least memorable. The one big plus is that the film goes to great lengths to make Anastasia and Christian memorable. They're certainly the best part of this film. Their relationship is unusual and therefore interesting. I appreciate that. Their performances weren't great, but they worked decently enough. Kim Basinger was a nice addition to the cast, although her role was pretty small. The supporting cast is fine, but their ability to make any impact on the film is very minimal.

It's not surprising that this film did poorer at the box office. It made $50 million less than the first film. That's to be expected. The novelty of the whole thing has worn off and I think enough people realize these movies aren't as steamy and exciting as you might expect. Besides the gratuitous nudity, these movies are fairly dull. The book the movie is based on is obviously pretty bad and the script is equally as disappointing. I'll see the third film in the franchise, but I'm really not looking forward to it. The first two films were quite underwhelming, and Fifty Shades Darker is a worse movie than the first one. Perhaps fortunes turn around in the final (I hope) movie. You know, I'm not even angry or frustrated with this movie, it's just so unmemorable, it really just elicits a shrug.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend:
Fifty Shades of Grey