Not as bad as everyone is saying

Rating: 7/10 (12 February 2015)

Fifty Shades of Grey is directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson, with the screenplay by Kelly Marcel, based on the novel by E.L. James. I haven't read the book, so I have nothing to compare it to. I've seen the book reviews and read the hype and it made me curious. So after seeing the film, I've come on here to find a very low rating and I'm quite surprised. It is definitely better than what many are saying.
The film is beautiful to look at. The directing, cinematography, and production design is stylish and polished. I think Sam Taylor-Johnson does an amazing job. Dakota Johnson is wonderful as Anastasia Steele. She is innocent yet sexy, playful but strong. Jamie Dornan is fantastic as the handsome, tormented businessman, Christian Grey. He is serious and intense, and is everything I'd imagined Christian to be. Both actors, besides being ridiculously good looking, do a fine job and play off each other well. They are definite stars of the future.
The love story part is realistic and romantic. Anastasia being in love for the first time, is swept off her feet by Christian but also feels emotional and confused about her feelings for him. The sex scenes are tastefully done, but I was actually expecting more explicit scenes from the way some people went on about them.
It's disappointing and unfortunate that it's getting such bad reviews, because there's many more films out there that are much worse than this. It's got a little bit of everything. Drama, romance, sex, humour, and a killer soundtrack. What more do you want? And as others have said, go see it with an open mind. It's not an award winning film, and the story itself is pretty clichéd, but overall I really liked it.