It's really not as dire as many of the armchair critics around here are making out. It's essentially just a well made, but derivative melodrama with some of the old BDSM thrown in to spice things up.

I have to admit I didn't notice much different with the change of directors. It does seem to follow on fairly logically from the first film, but if you're stepping in for the first time, you shouldn't have too many problems picking up the gist of things. I'd never try to argue the storyline is all that deep.

Dakota Johnson makes the film for me. She is a very appealing Ana and carries off the the vulnerable/strong character thing really well. Unlike some of the other reviewers around these parts, I think she succeeds in displaying plenty of chemistry with Christian. And speaking of that well-known male dominant, let me just add that I think Jamie Dornan plays that part quite well. Yes, he does appear kind of wooden and emotion-lite, but that's the way Christian is written in the books. And as many are aware, author EL James had a very big influence in the adaption of her books to the screen. For a start, her hubby Niall Leonard, is the sole script writer! All those expecting a vastly different screen persona of Christian are just whistling into a gale of a wind.

It was fun seeing Kim Bassinger turn up playing Elena, considering she starred in Nine and a Half Weeks, back 30 years or so ago and that film kicked up the same sort of reaction from critics as 50 Shades etc. ( It was also a commercial hit.) I'd never try to deny that the films all share great similarities. But that's Hollywood for you! What goes around, definitely comes back around!

Now about those little balls ...

Maybe there's something wrong with me but I didn't think these movies were all that bad. Sure it's a but full on at times but if you look beyond that it's actually quite a beautiful story . Ana changes Christian for the better after suffering a horrible childhood.

The predictable plotting and the boring dialogues makes this sequel automatically uninteresting. "Fifty Shades Darker" is worst than the first movie because the characters have learned nothing and repeat the exact same unhealthy relationship. The two beautiful protagonists do their bests to treating sex like a pleasurable activity but is not enough and the result is not good. The thriller narrative, involving persons from Grey's strange past, exposes the shallowness of the story. What made the first unit of this trilogy so much better than the current version is that everything was then new. But now that we are familiar with the equipment in Christian's lavish penthouse, the novelty is gone and the boredom is here.