Fifty Shades Freed: Film Review
The Fifty Shades franchise has never been that great so I never expected a sudden transformation into something amazing for the third and final instalment. My expectations were obviously low, especially after critics absolutely slated it, but it is OK. Fans will certainly enjoy it.
The film continues where Fifty Shades Darker left off, with Anastasia Steele (Dakota Johnson) and Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan) getting married. They are still being pursued by Ana’s former boss Jack Hyde (Eric Johnson), who seems to be holding a grudge against Christian and poses as a threat to Ana and his family, which includes Mia (Rita Ora) and Elliot (Luke Grimes).
My main issue with all of the films, and particularly the last two, is that they are just a bit flat. Not much actually happens; it is just a lot of scenes containing sex, discussions about their new marriage and Christian flashing his cash, so it seems more fitting for episodic television. Over the course of this film, there are probably about two actually dramatic things that occur, which isn’t much for 105 minutes. Films generally tend to ramp up or over-exaggerate the drama, but this does the opposite, making the dramatic moments just as flat as the rest. The kidnapping plot (which isn’t a spoiler as it’s in the trailer) is a decent device but they just don’t do enough with it and it’s resolved too quickly.
Johnson tries hard to inject some personality and life into proceedings and if it wasn’t for her, the entire thing would be even flatter. Grey is supposed to be this charming, charismatic type but Dornan seems bored and lifeless. Also, his character has changed so much over the course of the three films – no way would film one Christian play the piano and sing in front of people. It’s out of character completely! There are plenty of supporting characters too; like her best pal Kate (Eloise Mumford), architect Gia (Arielle Kebbel) and bodyguard Sawyer (Brant Daugherty), but they don’t stand out, except Ora, but that’s mostly because of her bad accent.
Fifty Shades was billed as an erotic thriller franchise but that’s never quite panned out – they’re not thrilling and I’ve seen more erotic sex scenes elsewhere. Fifty Shades Freed is entertaining enough for fans of the books and films. They are not great movies but they give the fans what they want at least.
In cinemas now