Fifty Shades Darker

“Jamie Dorman and Dakota Johnson return as Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele in Fifty Shades Darker, the second chapter based on the worldwide bestselling Fifty Shades phenomenon. When a wounded Christian tries to entice a cautious Anastasia back into his life, she demands a new arrangement before she will give him another chance. As the two begin to build trust and find stability, shadowy figures from Christian’s past start to circle the couple. Jack Hyde (Eric Johnson) and Elena Lincoln (Kim Basinger) join the cast, determined to destroy the couple’s hopes for a future together. This time there are no rules.”

The film opens after the events of the first film, as Anastasia goes about her day to day activities, hesitant to let Christian back into her life. However, after an extravagant display of affection from the billionaire, and a seemingly heartfelt discussion, Christian opens up to her briefly and says that he wants to change and have a more normal relationship. Believing his intentions are true, Anastasia only asks they take things slow as she begins to build her trust for him again. It takes time, but Christian seems to be changing.

There are instances where he oversteps his bounds, such as demanding she leave a bar that her boss casually invited her to, and refusing her to perform her job as an assistant by traveling to New York with him. The old Christian seems to be clinging on to life, but perhaps for good reason. When Anastasia has a frightening encounter with her boss Jack, Christian wants to keep her safe and asks her to move in. Still reeling from the encounter with Jack, and multiple encounters from a former submissive who is fixated on Christian, she has a lot to think about as their relationship progresses.

To say I am not the target demographic for this film is an understatement. There are certain preconceptions to this franchise you can’t help to hear about, especially given the popularity of the book and somewhat controversial nature of the content. However, I will say that although the film did contain several gratuitous sex scenes, there is a lot of exploration of Christian’s dark past and why he is the way he is.

The psychological portion of the story is quite fascinating, as we learn that there are parts of Christian he doesn’t allow anyone to touch, and delve into his past learning about his mother, and the fact that all of the submissives he chooses have a resemblance to her that he is compelled to punish. This is the part of the story that I quite enjoyed, but unfortunately that isn’t the reason people are going to want to see it. It is the numerous sex scenes that made the first film garner attention that people want to see, which I believe only detracts from an interesting story.

The new characters added to the cast, Jack Hyde and Elena Lincoln, although supposed to be menacing and a threat to the couples future, are horribly developed on screen. Both seem to have only minutes of screen time where a single sentence is supposed to sum up the connection with Christian, or as in the case of Jack Hyde, none at all. Particularly eye-rolling is one of the final scenes, in the spirit of a soap opera, as Jack burns Christian’s image on a photograph with a cigarette, with a menacing glare on top of an ocean cliff-side.

Fifty Shades Darker explores more about Christian and some of his past relationships, which makes his transformation into the type of man Anastasia wants to be with all the more compelling. Fans of the franchise will enjoy the dark history of the character, and will be anxious to see if their relationship can survive what’s coming in the third installment.

Video

Fifty Shades Darker is presented in 1080p High Definition Widescreen 2.40:1. The picture is quite clear with no defects noticed. There is a large contrast in the film, with many scenes containing a vast array of vibrant color, and other scenes staying true to the original title, with darker, more muted tones. This balance is well maintained and is a strong point of the film.

Audio

The audio is presented in DTS:X. The majority of the sound will be coming from the center channel in the form of dialogue, but the score is impressively boastful utilizing the surrounds. There is a great balance between the two.

Special Features

This set includes both the Theatrical and Unrated versions of the film. Also on the set you’re going to see:

• A Darker Direction
• The Masquerade
• Intimate with Darker
• New Threats
• Deleted Scenes
• A Tease to Fifty Shades Freed
• Writing Darker
• Dark Reunion

Fifty Shades Darker has an interesting story, but chooses to focus on the more controversial nature in order to sell it. Adapted from a book, I’m sure a lot of the questions and shortcomings of the film may be answered, but it is clear what they thought was more important here. Sex sells.