Review: Fifty Shades Darker

Runtime: 1hr 58min

Director: James Foley

Release Date: 10th February 2017

Rating: 18 (UK), R (US)

The next instalment of E.L James' Fifty Shades trilogy features more lip-biting, leg-grabbing, cash-flashing drivel than ever before; which doesn't amount to anything more than a lack of ingenuity.

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The saucy sequel to the novel-turned-movie epidemic that is Fifty Shades of Grey, this adaptation was a concise continuation of the first - glossy, well-polished, and truly tedious. Though funny at points, and extraordinarily easy to keep up with, the persistent lack of chemistry between the mediocre leads made the film about as raunchy as your grans' knickers.

While the franchise has established a rather successful position within the market (having made almost $150m on its' opening weekend alone), the sex-fuelled romance between the very plain Ana (Dakota Johnson) and billionaire bachelor Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan) sees demons confronted and emotional deviations from the start. 

Dornan, while definitely more polished than his previous performance, still lacked energy and relate-ability, while Johnson was an irritatingly deficient component in her reprisal. The remainder of the cast (including an over-hyped Rita Ora) were about as unmemorable as you would expect. The introduction of various faces (Mrs Robinson, unfortunately not portrayed by Kim Cattrall) added nothing exceptional either.

The cinematography which, although well-suited to the style of the story, didn't strike me as anything special whatsoever. This time around however, the music was also particularly bland in comparison to Fifty Shades of Grey - which at least complimented the picture.

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There isn't much to be said for the writing or direction - sex is Darkers' only narrative, which, by the end, borders on ridiculous. It still can't work out if it wants to be a classic love story or a steamy depiction that verges on pornographic - either way their brief has been ineffective.

Overall, a middle-of-the-road love story; well-adapted though poorly executed, with occasional steamy moments but hardly tugging at the heart-strings. Boring and bland - I can't wait to be Freed from this trilogy.

4.5/10