Fifty Shades Darker

The Fifty Shades of Grey saga continues with an installment that ultimately falls right in line with its predecessor, as Fifty Shades Darker‘s perfectly watchable atmosphere is tempered by the leads’ palpable lack of chemistry and an often egregiously lackadaisical execution. The narrative follows Dakota Johnson’s Anastasia Steele as she and Jamie Dornan’s Christian Grey attempt to start over after their breakup, with the pair’s happiness together ultimately threatened by a variety of outside forces (including a mysterious figure from Christian’s past). There’s not a whole lot happening within Fifty Shades Darker from a story perspective, and it’s clear that the movie’s absence of forward momentum ensures that the whole thing plays without any demonstrable highs or lows (ie it’s all just so flat, essentially). It’s a vibe that’s perpetuated by Niall Leonard somewhat repetitious screenplay, as much of Fifty Shades Darker‘s overlong running time (115 minutes!) is devoted to artfully-shot yet far-from-titillating sex scenes – with Johnson and Dornan’s aforementioned chemistry shortage certainly compounding this less-than-sexy feel. Despite such qualms, however, Fifty Shades Darker admittedly does manage to hold the viewer’s interest throughout due to its solid visuals and strong performances – with, in terms of the latter, Johnson and Dornan delivering able work that’s matched by periphery players like Marcia Gay Harden, Kim Basinger, and Eric Johnson. The almost incongruously eventful final stretch ensures that Fifty Shades Darker ends on a positive note, to be sure, which does confirm the film’s place as a decent adaptation that should leave fans of the series satisfied. (It’s ultimately clear, however, that both Fifty Shades of Grey and this followup could’ve been compressed into a single, far more effective movie.)

**1/2 out of ****