Rolling Stone magazine gave the film… 0 points out of 4, with the comment: “With this film, we have experienced the worst level. Being beaten by whips, chains or sadomasochistic tools are not as miserable as the torture of having to watch this film.”
“The audience was subjected to two hours of cruel and unusual punishment”
– Rolling Stone magazine
The magazine described the audience’s experience in the cinema as “two hours of cruel and unusual punishment; can human sexuality be so stupid and empty?”.
And the New York Daily News critic wrote: “Tie me up, hold me down. Make me watch bad movies. Just don’t make me watch another Fifty Shades Freed .”
The reason comes from the terrible, indescribably silly script. The film begins with the wedding of the beloved couple Anastasia Steele (played by Dakota Johnson) and Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan).
The couple’s wedding and lavish honeymoon were, according to the BBC , crudely staged and unconvincing, and much of the subsequent plot was a repeat of this.
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| Each film of Fifty Shades of Grey has been criticized but has had huge revenue. Photo: Universal Pictures. |
The plot of the film can be described as follows: Ana and her friends go shopping for evening dresses, Christian goes house shopping, Ana drives a car, Christian drives a snowmobile… Such scenes are filled with images of promoted brands.
“There’s very little personality, and even less story,” wrote the BBC . The Telegraph, meanwhile , suspected the script was conceived by Audi because of the number of promotional images inserted.
In the film, Ana’s character works as a senior editor at a publishing company, but her job is to go to the office and leave with very little activity that shows her professional ability. BBC said: “Ana is probably the only editor in America who doesn’t keep a single manuscript at home.”
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| The enigmatic villain Jack Hyde. Photo: Universal Pictures. |
The villain Jack Hyde (Eric Johnson), Ana’s former boss, is also considered one of the film’s farces as his psychology and actions are both funny.
Hyde repeatedly attacks Ana and Christian with unbelievable ease, while this couple is very rich and powerful. And the government is inexplicably extremely lenient with this villain, letting him go around attacking other people.
The screenplay was written by Niall Leonard, husband of the original book author EL James. But it would be unfair to blame Leonard alone, as director James Foley’s direction was no better. “Both seem determined to fail,” the BBC wrote.
Sex, BDSM: It’s Okay to Cut It All Out
Many viewers who enjoy Fifty Shades of Grey may argue that the film’s corny plot is not a problem because its main appeal lies in the sadomasochistic (BDSM) sex scenes between the two main characters.
But even in this part, the film was also rated as “not sexy at all”. Like the previous parts, the acting of the female lead Dakota Johnson was rated higher, and was somewhat charming. The big minus point of the film was the wooden acting of the male lead Jamie Dornan.
Christian Grey’s personality is also considered contradictory and unattractive, even though the script describes him as rich, powerful, and charming.
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| The male lead Jamie Dornan has been criticized for his consistently poor acting throughout the series. Photo: Universal Pictures. |
Hot scenes in the film include a scene in the car when newlyweds, a scene in the kitchen at the couple’s vacation home when they invite friends over, and some other scenes that use sadomasochistic and masochistic devices.
But Dornan’s voice was described by the BBC as “sounding constantly stuffy” and his face in the sex scenes looked “like he was thinking about tomorrow morning’s board meeting”.
With this latest performance, Dornan has once again been accused of squandering his chance to play the much-anticipated Christian Grey. Critics expected a better, sexier actor to play the handsome, sexually passionate and tragic billionaire.
“The film gives the impression that the main actor is going through a miserable time. And so are the viewers,” wrote the BBC .
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| A hot scene in the movie. Photo: Universal Pictures. |
The sex in the Fifty Shades series, which is considered the main factor that attracts audiences to the film, is still considered stiff and awkward. At this point, Variety asserted: “In fact, a PG-13 version of this film without the sex scenes could be released without affecting the content of the film.”
Despite the negative reviews (like the previous parts), the final part of Fifty Shades is still expected to earn about 40 million USD in its first week. The film will be released on February 9 in the US and February 13 in Vietnam.
