It’s been almost a month since Fifty Shades of Grey hit theaters. In its first week at the box office, the film jumped right to #1 and has been on a slow decline since. Now that many of you have had the chance to see it, just like us here at Fandemonium Network, we decided to but our spin on a review.
So here’s our thoughts:
Jamie Dornan as Christian Grey
Miranda: Hmmm, well, how to start…If you know me, I love the fact that Jamie was chosen for this role. Did he meet all of my expectations I had for Christian Grey, no. However that’s not to say that I had a problem with him either. Personally I think he took Christian’s introverted personality and brought that to the screen. He didn’t hit all the characteristics though. The one big thing left out was the smirk. I think he has it in him to portray all of Christian but just didn’t deliver it at 100%. Maybe it’s because he was nervous or just didn’t know how to bring it, who’s to say. Overall though, I think he didn’t do too bad. Now, if only his character had a beard, that may have brought it to a whole other level 🙂
Jenn: Jamie was just not my ideal Christian. I know that Christian is supposed to look clean-cut and professional, but Jamie only does it for me with the beard. Another thing that bothered me was that since he was holding back his Irish accent, his lips looked funny trying to speak with an American accent.
Kristin: I’ve seen it a couple of times now and plan to see it again this week. I’ve found that Jamie did great but didn’t nail Christian like I wished he would. It was the little things. Like the smile that Miranda said and the way he said “Laters Baby”. When I read Christian saying it I swooned but in the movie it didn’t do anything for me.
Dakota Johnson as Anastasia Steele
Miranda: Three words, she rocked it! I was unsure how I would feel about her, I had never seen her in anything before this. I was also wary because I thought she looked older than your typical college graduate would look. But she gave it her all and made it work. The innocence and shyness she portrayed was spot on.
Jenn: She nailed it. I loved the fact that you could see the transformation from the beginning to the end.
Kristin: I thought Dakota blew it out of the water. She was a perfect Ana. It seems like when they took Ana’s inner goddess out of the script, they replaced it with a funny Anastasia Steele. Not that Ana isn’t funny, but they really amped her up and Dakota Johnson did a brilliant job of that.
Jenn: I thought that I was going to miss the inner goddess monologue, but her body language brought out what wasn’t said.
Cinematography
Miranda: This was my biggest area of negativity. The beginning of the movie really had me questioning whether I would like it. The scenes were too “jumpy” for my liking. But it seems that the longer the movie went on, the more flowy the scenes became.
Jenn: I don’t have a good answer for that, I was drunk!
Kristin: I didn’t have a problem with it.
Miranda: Well then….I’ll go back to my corner.
Were Major Points From the Book Hit
Miranda: I have to say that most of the major points were hit. The ones that weren’t (the tampon scene especially) were scenes I think were better left out. Some things just don’t need to be shown.
Jenn: Ooh, agree with you there! That did not have to be shown, it didn’t change the movie one bit. Oh and they did not put in the rolling of her eyes or the biting of her lip. That needed to be in!! WHERE WAS THE TWITCHY PALM?????
Kristin: There were a few things that were left out, especially after the graduation scene. Christian should have come back and slept with her, but he didn’t. And like Jenn said, the lip biting and eye rolling really needed to be added in.
Miranda: Yes, where was that twitchy palm…*sigh*
Sex Scenes
Miranda: All I can say is WE NEED MORE JAMIE! I’m all for nudity and sexual experiences, but you can see bewbies only so many times before it gets redundant. Bring on the peen! Anyway, I think for the subject matter at hand, the film portrayed it in a way that wasn’t too violent, yet left you wanting more.
Jenn: The book sex scenes were better. They were hotter. When reading the books, it’s easier to use your imagination more.
Miranda: So are you saying that by being able to use your imagination more, you were able to have more fun in private?? HAHAHA!!
Kristin: They were good, but not great. I needed more, of everything. Definitely more Christian.
Ending
Miranda: I’ll be the first to say, I hate cliff hangers. Even though I knew what would happen next, after the movie ended, it still leaves you in that state of wanting to yell “NO!!!!” But I guess that’s the point of having sequels.
Jenn: What would suck, if they decided to not make the sequels.
Kristin: Cliff hangers blow! But it happens even though it leaves you saying “Really you’re going to leave it there?”
Overall review
Miranda: Overall, I think that EL James and Sam Taylor-Johnson did a decent job in bringing the book to life. I think with the material that they were working with and the rating that the MPAA gave the movie, you can only show so much.
Jenn: Ehhh. Jamie has to improve for the next 2 movies. He needs to nail the smirk. And the next director needs to play nicely with Erika. If it can’t happen, I don’t know if I’ll be able to sit through them.
Kristin: I thought it was good. I thought it followed the book really well. I think the little add ins were cute (ie. the toast). It would be nice if there was more sex scenes in it.
