Fifty Shades Freed

The final episode of this inexplicably successful soft-core porn franchise opens with billionaire Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan) dazzling his bride, Anastasia Steele (Dakota Johnson), with an ostentatious display of his staggering wealth: jet, yacht, personal chef, etc. "This is yours?" she gasps. "No, ours," he smoothly replies. Yet their gilded honeymoon in Paris and the Cote d’Azur is marred by a holdover that Anastasia brings to their union—namely, her desire to continue working in book publishing. "You can’t keep me in a cage," she tells her domineering husband. A threat is posed by Ana’s former boss, smarmy Jack Hyde (Eric Johnson), who lost his job and is out for revenge. Plus, Ana’s desire to get pregnant clashes with Christian’s selfish wish to keep her affectionate attention totally for himself, and she’s wildly jealous of Christian’s relationship with their architect. Inserted into the predictable plodding plot is a strange nocturnal interlude with Ana and Christian—sleepless in Seattle—meandering into the kitchen and devouring each other, along with a tub of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. Based on the pulpy S&M novels by British author E.L James (aka Erika Mitchell), director James Foley’s Fifty Shades Freed propels its protagonists through glossy musical montages to an improbable happily-ever-after (and, fortunately, there are currently no plans to film James’s fourth novel telling the same flimsy fairy tale from Christian’s perspective). Not recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include “The Final Climax” behind-the-scenes featurette (33 min.), a “Christian & Ana by Jamie & Dakota” character segment (6 min.), and a brief deleted scene. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is a conversation with author E. L. James and costar Eric Johnson (9 min.), the music videos “For You (Fifty Shades Freed)” by Liam Payne and Rita Ora, “Capital Letters” by Hailee Steinfeld and BloodPop, and “Heaven” by Julia Michaels, and bonus DVD and digital copies of the film. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a lame conclusion to a forgettable series.] (S. Granger)