Fifty Shades of Grey is an erotic drama from 2015 starring Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan. The movie is, of course, an adaptation of the very popular but widely panned series of books by E.L. James. I have never read the books, so I cannot speak directly to the quality, but they do get pretty bad reviews, and in a recent Vanity Fair article, Dakota Johnson (who plays Anastasia Steel) said they were pretty horrible. For those who don't know, the storyline is basically about a relationship between Ana, a quiet college student, and billionaire businessman Christian Grey (by Jamie Dornan). Their relationship becomes complicated as he becomes more controlling and introduces her to the world of BDSM.
The movie is definitely not for the pearl-clutching crowd. There is a lot of sex and nudity in it, which should be obvious going in, and the sex gets amped up as the movie goes along. The problem with the movie, aside from the shlocky screenplay with some really bad dialogue, is that Johnson and Dornan do not really have the right chemistry to pull off the relationship. Johnson can play quiet and mousy fine, and Dornan can play intense (as evidenced by his role in the wonderful series The Fall), but it was hard to buy that they would be in a BDSM relationship with each other. Johnson does seem like she has a lot of personality in real life, but she either wasn't allowed to or chose not to display that in the movie, basically playing Ana very bland and monotone all the way through the movie, except during the contract negotiation scene, which was really the best non-sex scene in the movie.
For those who get the blu-ray, the movie looks and sounds great in HD. The extras include an unrated version with mostly tacks on a few minutes to the ending of the movie after the elevator closes. It does not add much to the theatrical version at all, which is also included. Then there is a teaser for the second movie, Fifty Shades Darker, and a handful of featurettes titled The World of Fifty Shades of Grey, Behind the Shades, E.L. James & Fifty Shades, Fifty Shades: The Pleasure of Pain, Christian's Apartment: 360* Set Tour, and Behind the Scenes of "Earned It (Fifty Shades of Grey). Then there are some music videos. So, if you like watching the extras, there is a good amount there.
Overall, the movie is okay but not great. As I said above, the dialogue can be really cheesy in spots, and as a result, the acting is not as good as it could have been. Johnson has gone on record saying the production of the movie was kind of a mess, which definitely bleeds through into the final product. If you get this because you think Johnson and/or Dornan is hot and do not expect to watch an Academy Award-winning drama, then you probably will not be disappointed. If you expect the movie to be something it is not, then you definitely will.
The movie is definitely not for the pearl-clutching crowd. There is a lot of sex and nudity in it, which should be obvious going in, and the sex gets amped up as the movie goes along. The problem with the movie, aside from the shlocky screenplay with some really bad dialogue, is that Johnson and Dornan do not really have the right chemistry to pull off the relationship. Johnson can play quiet and mousy fine, and Dornan can play intense (as evidenced by his role in the wonderful series The Fall), but it was hard to buy that they would be in a BDSM relationship with each other. Johnson does seem like she has a lot of personality in real life, but she either wasn't allowed to or chose not to display that in the movie, basically playing Ana very bland and monotone all the way through the movie, except during the contract negotiation scene, which was really the best non-sex scene in the movie.
For those who get the blu-ray, the movie looks and sounds great in HD. The extras include an unrated version with mostly tacks on a few minutes to the ending of the movie after the elevator closes. It does not add much to the theatrical version at all, which is also included. Then there is a teaser for the second movie, Fifty Shades Darker, and a handful of featurettes titled The World of Fifty Shades of Grey, Behind the Shades, E.L. James & Fifty Shades, Fifty Shades: The Pleasure of Pain, Christian's Apartment: 360* Set Tour, and Behind the Scenes of "Earned It (Fifty Shades of Grey). Then there are some music videos. So, if you like watching the extras, there is a good amount there.
Overall, the movie is okay but not great. As I said above, the dialogue can be really cheesy in spots, and as a result, the acting is not as good as it could have been. Johnson has gone on record saying the production of the movie was kind of a mess, which definitely bleeds through into the final product. If you get this because you think Johnson and/or Dornan is hot and do not expect to watch an Academy Award-winning drama, then you probably will not be disappointed. If you expect the movie to be something it is not, then you definitely will.
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