4k-UHD/Movie Review: Fifty Shades Darker

 

Fifty Shades Darker is the 2017 follow-up to the 2015 movie Fifty Shades of Grey, based on the series of novels by E.L. James. The movie again stars Dakota Johnson as Anastacia/Ana Steele and Jamie Dornan as Christian Grey, a billionaire entrepreneur with a penchant for BDSM relationships. In the first movie, the two have a torrid love affair that goes bad because of his inability to open up and have a normal relationship. This movie is essentially about his attempt to win her back and the two trying to make a relationship work, with a lot of obstacles being thrown in the way of their relationship.

For those who get the 4k Disc, the movie looks and sounds very good in the UHD format. There is definitely a video quality upgrade from the blu-ray disc (which is also included in the two-disc set). The UHD disc just has the movie itself and the blu-ray has the extras, which are pretty meager. The extras include a couple of short deleted scenes, a teaser for the final movie, and then a handful of making-of featurettes that vary in length from about 3 minutes to just under 9 minutes. Nothing special, but they are there if you want to watch them.

I have not read the books (which were mostly a hit with women), but from the reviews (and based on interviews with Dakota Johnson talking about them) they were pretty bad. And, as a result, the script definitely has some cringe-worth dialogue. The issues from the first movie definitely carry over to this one, a big one being that the chemistry between Dornan and Johnson was still not great in this movie, and overall, I just had a hard time buying them as the kind of couple they were portraying. On the plus side, if you think Johnson is hot and want to see her tits on an almost two-hour loop, this movie will give you that. There are some good additions to the cast for this movie including Bella Heathcote, Kim Bassinger, Marcia Gay Harden, Eric Johnson, and Rita Ora. I  think the expanded cast helps to break up Christian and Ana's storyline so that the chemistry issues between Johnson and Dornan are not as obvious. Ultimately, if you liked the first movie you will probably like this one, as long as you manage your expectations. It definitely has the feel of the second chapter of a trilogy, putting the characters in peril and, as kind of cliche, having an overall darker (pun intended) theme. If you think of it as Twilight without the vampires and a lot more sex, that will give you an idea of what you are getting into if you watch it.