I will not be awarding an A to Sam Taylor-Johnson

Rating: 4/10 (13 February 2015)

Making this movie was always going to be tough job, it had a lot to live up to considering the hype of the book and it's revolutionary nature. Everyone has there own Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele, so how should I review it, on the books translation to film or as a Hollywood movie. As a translation from the book, the opening sequence, the interview, probably the most critical scene in the film was lacking the sexual tension the book creates. Most of the dialogue expected from this, cut out and changed, almost beyond recognition. The scene was watchable because of Dornan, not because of the script. It was this and other vital parts such as the bath scene which were lacking in the movie. Yet, the creation of some scenes, the walk in the forest, (oh please!!!)was very much romanticising these characters.
The film seemed to glue scenes together into a mesh of bondage,sex hints (to call them sex scenes would be giving them too much credit) and humour but not actually touching the darkness of Christian Grey and the contrasting innocence of Anastasia Steele. Christian Grey seemed to be established as rather fluffy and misguided straight away probably so it could be deemed acceptable to a broader film audience and Anastasia Steele still managed to keep the feminists happy by making a stand against Christian Grey's lifestyle early on. Not so noticeable were the parts of Christian Grey's anatomy which were disappointingly absent in the film. Yet Anastasia Steele's female form nearer enough fully exposed.
As a Hollywood film, let's think where we've seen spanking before and Steven Shainberg's Secretary comes to mind. I think the intensity of the spanking lifestyle was better conveyed in that movie and perhaps Taylor-Johnson should have watched that movie for inspiration before directing this film. However, Christian Grey is a glamorous character and that is where this film excelled, the Escala set, the wardrobes were all good. This movie was constricted by guidelines for what is believed to be acceptable in the cinema and I don't think this book perhaps should ever have been a 2hr4min film. A TV adaption would have been much more effective. Television is where sexual revolutions on screen seem to be made nowadays.
In summary, if your a book fan, don't go see this movie. If you're looking for some entertainment and want a Christian Grey with his fluffy slippers on, then go see this movie.