Fifty Shades Freed: Review
Starring: Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan, Rita Ora, Marcia Gay Harden, Eric Johnson, Ashleigh LaThrop (Rated MA – 105 min).
Third and final in the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy, that I don’t mind saying became an entertaining Z-Grade series I came to kind of enjoy.
My secret applause derived because it’s fun to watch horrendous dialogue unravel by some good, some not so good, actors intent on taking it seriously alongside classy cinematography glowing across the screen and upbeat soundtracks across an abundance of musical interludes masking a dumbed down experience elsewhere.
Now married, publisher Anastasia Steele, the new Mrs Grey to whip meister Christian Grey, are striving to make it work with travel and the limelight taking its toll. Adding to pressure, an out of the past jilted individual returns to haunt Anastasia, soon creating life threatening situations for her friends and members of the new extended family.
Daughter of Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith, the superior talent here is Dakota Johnson, rising as best as she can above the absolute atrocity of non-suspense of action sequences to the quivering of the integral kinks of the red room. The maniacal bad guy Eric Johnson (Rookie Blue) kidnaps and stalks, like the objectionale movie, he is not convincing.
No denying Dakota can act, check out A Bigger Splash (2015) or even a nice part in forgettable Need For Speed (2014), so it’s terrific for her coming out basically unscathed. Unintentionally boasting solidarity within this three-peat that somehow makes billions globally when at best, the series would be ripe for streaming services if released now, not three years ago.
With less visits to the aforementioned red room full of whips, chips, chains and dips, Freed is hard to recall from the moment the final credits roll. Dornan is OK but chemistry sullen with Johnson, although actually has improved since the first instalment.
Brit songstress Rita Ora has screen potential, just not here see Darker, while Oscar winner Marcia Gay Harden (Pollock) is horrible but not her fault. It’s all down to a juvenile script adapted from an equally basic book trio.
It’s easy to hate on these Shades films, there is still something to be taken away from the series if viewed as awkward entertainment. Not a bad car chase aside, once seen, instantly forgotten, except for Dakota whom I hope can smile about this glitch in a growing career.
Shane A. Bassett
