Fifty Shades Darker: Film Review

Christian and Ana must work out their relationship and decide once and for all what it is they want from each other. But something dark is looming over the relationship when two women from Christian’s past step out of the shadows.

When we last left our star-crossed lovers, Ana was leaving Christian because she didn’t like the side of him that she was seeing. In the time that has passed, Christian, played by Jamie Dornan, has tried to win her back. Ana finally agrees to go to dinner with him and the romance is sparked again.

This installment in the Fifty Shades franchise feels different than the first. There is a lot less sex and more about their relationship. Don’t get me wrong, there is sex, but it isn’t the focus this time. How Ana and Christian’s relationship will unfold is what we see and it is way more interesting. Watching Ana take control over the relationship and tell Christian what she wants is refreshing. She is taking back control.

The best plot point of the movie is resolved too quickly considering it is what the trailer makes look like is the focus. When the trailer came out we saw a woman stand in front of Ana with a gun. Who is she? Why does she want to do this? People who have read the book know but for me, who stopped reading after the first chapter, I was intrigued. I wanted to know more. The actual plot gets tied up in a neat little bow way too early and I felt duped. But that isn’t to say the movie is bad.

What stands out to me is the acting. With Fifty Shades of Grey Dakota Johnson, who plays Ana, and Dornan acted like they hated each other and it was because they actually had a lot of problems on set. This time around they at least seemed like they wanted to be in the same room with each other. In fact there is a scene where Ana thinks Christian may be gone forever and you can feel her pain. It makes Fifty Shades Darker way better than the first one by a long shot.

Fifty Shades Darker does have its problems though. There are times when you can tell Dornan is trying to hide his accent so you lose some of the effect of the scene. The plot with the mystery woman is over and done with too soon. The movie feels like it takes forever to wrap up. Since there is a lot going on, it takes a while to get to the end of the film. It isn’t actually that long, just under two hours, but you feel like the movie is dragging toward the middle.

Overall, Fifty Shades Darker towers over the first film. This movie keeps your attention more and doesn’t focus on the sex part of the relationship. You get a feel for the characters as people and that is refreshing. If you liked the first film then you will possibly love this one. As someone who didn’t finish the book series I was pleasantly surprised.

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