I quite liked it, I always knew that the book had potential to make for a better film and it is better than the book. Gone is the insanely cringeworthy narration and annoying lead character and here we have a pretty well realized Anastasia in Dakota Johnson. She's very, very good in this and pretty much carries the movie. Jamie Dornan isn't exactly a perfect fit for Christian but he works most of the time.

Taylor-Johnson did a nice job, the whole film looks gorgeous. The contract scene in particular is great.

It's pretty bad. My wife's a fan of the book, which I hadn't read, but even she ended up disliking it.

Get ready for one of the cheapest endings of all time.

is there a money shot

No - I'd say it's tamer than most HBO fare.

Considering how terrible the book was, I guess this was as good as a movie adaptation possibly could be. Dakota Johnson was pretty good here, as was Jamie Doran but the rumors were true, they had absolutely zero chemistry with each other. I did enjoy the set up (I did in the book as well) but the constant back and fourth with her signing the contract was incredibly boring and the fact that Ana is such a horrible character was even more grating on film that on the page. I'm not usually someone to complain about stuff like this but what a fucking horrible character for a woman. She is even more dependent on her man than Bella Swan and it's incredibly disgusting and her actions at the end are just ridiculous.

As for the sex scenes, they were all hype. Barely erotic and I was actually surprised by how tame the whole thing was. I've definitely seen worse in R rated movies and there was in no way 20 minutes worth of them here, maybe 10 tops but I feel like that's pushing it.

C

This sounds like it would have made for a much better HBO mini series. Atleast they could have kept the darker/campier aspects in tact with the hardcore sex stuff. I can't imagine not having GOT style sex scenes wouldn't have made this infinitely more entertaining than just having two random actors with no chemistry in a castrated version.

Yeah, an HBO series would've been a better route (especially for the sequels...) but $$$ I guess.

I don't think the sex scenes were that tame. They didn't go ALL the way but I think it was appropriately graphic.

I really enjoyed it. It's sexy, a bit scary/dangerous (unless of course you're hardcore into BDSM then you would find it weak), intriguing. Dakota Johnson is perfect as Anastasia. She's really lovable and charming. Brings a sense of humor to the character. It also sounds like she was an idiot in the book from what I've heard. And while naive the movie's Anastasia is actually intelligent. Johnson is the movie's secret weapon and why it works so well. Jamie Dornan is also good. It's well-shot and fairly tasteful. I'm hoping they bring back the same director for the sequel but with her and the author of the book apparently feuding I won't hold my breath.

The abrupt ending definitely left me wanting more so I'm pleased there are two more films to come.

8/10 (B+)

I didn't hate it. Dakota Johnson's quite good and the direction is solid. Jamie Dornan is so flat as Christian, though, that the second half becomes an absolute chore because I didn't care about him opening up.

This was sooooo much better than the "novels," which are complete garbage. I'd hesitate to call this a good movie, per se, but it's handsomely composed and features a surprisingly strong lead performance from Dakota Johnson. She manages to actually turn Ana, who was a one-dimensional idiot with no agency in the books, into something resembling an actual person. Jamie Dornan is fine, although his performance seems much more surface level. It still can't escape some of the ridiculous dialogue it's plagued with as well as often cringeworthy takes on sexuality, but Fifty Shades of Grey registers not as the epic disaster it could have been, but something actually watchable. C+

The jury is still out on if this hurts Dakota's career, but I'm glad to see she's coming out of this largely unscathed so far.

I still heart Ben & Kate.

This will help her career and make her a name.

Shockingly this wasn't bad. It wasn't really good but it wasn't bad.

A great piece of literature can inspire a mediocre film. A mediocre piece of literature can also inspire a great or at least very entertaining film. E. L. James' erotic novel Fifty Shades of Grey has sold hundreds of millions of copies around the globe, and its popularity is often credited to a legion of bored, undiscerning suburban mothers and wives desperate for a covert dose of literary deviance. It also has a legion of detractors, noting James' unskillful prose and its unconventional origin as Twilight-inspired fan fiction. Given the high-profile, high-tension, perhaps unenviable duty of adapting the divisive and gushing novel for the medium of film, director Sam Taylor-Johnson delivers a chic, sexy, and slyly self-aware film. The story, of course, turns on shy Portland university student Anastasia (Dakota Johnson) and her hesitant exploration of sadomasochism with enigmatic, wealthy suitor Christian Grey (cool, stony Jamie Dornan). In a neat way, Taylor-Johnson and screenwriter Kelly Marcel luxuriate in the purple-prose archetypes and kinkily retrograde fantasies woven throughout James' text (a modern Cinderella and her brooding CEO Charming and his whip and his perfectly designed pad) while remaining conscious of a certain inherent escapist absurdity, resulting in a film at once titillating and amusing, one which builds to a surprising, power-dynamic-shifting ending. It should be among the year's most courageous and memorable mainstream denouements. The film is buoyed, too, by the unexpected strength of female lead Johnson. Her elegant, fresh-faced, loose performance here will instantly establish her as a freshly minted A-list star. From meet-cute start to devastated finish, she is adorable and captivating and set apart by a unique screen presence.

A-

While I am interested in the sequels, it is a shame they will undermine the power of this film's ending, which I truly consider perfect. Holy shit, right? She asserts herself in this abrupt and powerful way, and she leaves him, this self-forged masculine master of the universe, vulnerable and rejected. "No. Stop!" Who is dominant now? And there is no subsequent race to the airport or tearful I-will-change-if-you-stay,-baby plea. Just this perfect moment of emotional growth (on her part) and power-dynamic sea change. And boom, the end, deal with it and the implications. I was very impressed.

yas

I did love the last 10 minutes or so, even if I hate Ana's character. It was filmed perfectly and the scene where he punishes her was great.

I do not understand why you hate the character of Ana so much. I found her arc of empowerment very satisfying.

Agreed. The ending was fantastic. Glad you loved it David.

This will be the best review all year.

This was actually highly enjoyable for the first 45 minutes or so before Ana is introduced to Christian's lifestyle. Unfortunately once that aspect is introduced the movie goes downhill, mostly because of the atrocious dialogue that these actors are forced to recite. Also, Ana as a character gets more and more ridiculous and the sex scenes end up just being repetitive. That being said, as a movie this is far from awful. It's very well-shot and mostly entertaining, and also has a great soundtrack and a fantastic final 10 minutes or so (this and the scene where they are going over the contract are probably the best parts of the movie). It is a little annoying that there were so many unanswered questions and plot threads being left open for the sequel because it made this film feel a bit unfinished. Dakota Johnson was fantastic and a big part of the reason this works so well, and I really liked her character's arc. Jamie Dornan did nothing for me though - I found him bland. The supporting cast doesn't really do anything enough to justify mentioning them (like the friend of Ana's trying to kiss her and then that scene never being mentioned again, etc.). It's a little creepy to me that women are obsessed with Christian though as some kind of sex symbol. He's obviously a sociopath. B-

The best part is ofc Miss Goulding's LMLYD scene. that was beautiful

When they first ride in the helicopter? I thought the use of it was kinda awkward despite being a very good song.

The contract scene is definitely the best scene for me. Although I very much enjoyed the film this is the only scene where I could actually feel genuine heat between the leads that should've been in the sex scenes.

Oh, and I'm gonna guess Dakota Johnson will get a nomination at the WOKJ Awards next year for Breakthrough.