Catching up on some film watching, I figured I would host a few double-bill viewings of films over the past few days. Coincidentally the two films I watched yesterday were both from Universal Pictures and also coincidentally both films received a bit of a critical hammering when they hit cinema screens earlier this year.  But never one to avoid a film because someone else didnt like them. I felt the best way to judge them was to sit down and watch them myself. Which I did.

First up is Blackhat, which sees director Michael Mann return to the big screen for the first time in five years. His last film being the less than stunning Public Enemies. What is a blackhat? Well think back to the days of cowboys and indians, cops and robbers. A ‘Blackhat’ is a bad guy, a criminal. But in this film it deals with bad guy computer hackers who seem to be up to no good when they sabotage a nuclear reactor.

Imprisoned computer-hacker Nick Hathaway (played by Chris Hemsworth) is given release from prison by the F.B.I to aid them in the search for the power behind the crimes.

But is Blackhat any good? Is it as dubious as some reviews claimed? Well no its not at all deserving of the negativity given earlier in the year. I thoroughly enjoyed the film, which runs at over two hours but kept me entertained for its entire run. Its more ‘Miami Vice’ than ‘Heat’ and perhaps that’s why the film gathered some funny looks. Do they think that every film Michael Mann creates must be as epic as the Al Pacino/Robert DeNiro starring crime thriller? Perhaps. But I take each film on its own merits. Chris Hemsworth is fine in the leading role although he can slip into Jack Bauer territory from time to time. I haven’t quite seen a computer hacker that can out shoot trained killers. Until now, but this is a film. Not a documentary.

I suppose some people might have been a bit lost with earlier scenes involving computer jargon such as RAT’s, Malware, IP addresses and such like but if you are in this film for the action, then don’t try to understand the tech speak. Just sit back and soon you will be rewarded by gun battles that rival ‘Heat’  and enough action set peaces to keep your surround sound bellowing out.

I also went into Blackhat thinking it would be a once watch and done sort of film, but now that the end credits have rolled and I sit here typing up my thoughts. I realize that I can see myself watching Blackhat several times over the years, in the same way that I rewatch Miami Vice, or Collateral.

Blackhat is out now on Digital and DVD/Blu Ray from Universal

So now heres the main event, a film that divided audiences hugely in February 2015 when the film adaptation of the E L James book hit the screens. Fifty Shades of Grey, most definitely a book phenomenon that caused many a woman to rush into their local book stores to try and grab a copy of the must have written trilogy.

Then the talk of the movie adaptation started with the casting of Charlie Hunnam creating a yes/no sort of debate, before Charlie decided enough was enough and he bailed on the project to quickly be replaced by Jamie Dornan, who is fantastic in the TV series ‘The Fall’ to take the role of the dominant male “Christian Grey” who decides to take under his wing, the innocent and naive “Anastasia Steele”(played by Dakota Johnson) and teach her all about S&M (or at least the cinematic version of S&M)

With Sam-Taylor Johnson (Director of Nowhere Boy) onboard as director, the film was up and running and opened to insane box office takings in 2015, making a fortune for the studio and lighting up the internet with cries of ‘loved it/hated it’ but as many a film maker has said to me. The worse thing they can hear about a film is ‘its ok’  filmmakers love passion and to hear people vent about how much they hated it, can sometimes be more pleasing than ‘it was alright i guess’

So what were my thoughts on the film? Well firstly I havent read the books, I also have no intention on reading the books. Its not my type of writing so I am not really the audience for the film, but I like to watch all genres of films so sat down and pressed play on the Blu Ray (I opted for the Unseen version which is on the disc, an extra three minutes of footage)

Its not that bad actually. Its beautifully shot, the locations look stunning and cold (in an emotional way) Its all very American Psycho looking with the perfect suits, and expensive apartments and so on. The direction of the film is fine and Sam Taylor Johnson has done a great job considering the behind the scenes chaos if you managed to read stories about that. But what about the acting? Well having not read the novels, its hard to comment on whether Dakota and Jamie manage to transport Ms Steele and Mr Grey into the cinematic work in the way ‘fans’ hoped. But for me as a first time viewer they did an okay job. There is most definitely a few clunky moments in the script such as

Christian Grey: I have rules. If you follow them, I’ll reward you. If you don’t, I’ll punish you.

Anastasia Steele: You’d punish me. You’d use this stuff on me?

Christian Grey: Yes.

Anastasia Steele: What would I get out of this?

Christian Grey: Me.

But the film feels like the dialogue comes from a play, rather than a screenplay and perhaps that works best. We are after all seeing an adaptation of a book that has been read by millions across the globe.

There is of course the whole feminist argument that erupted  around the film, does it promote physical abuse? (No), does it promote that men are superior and women crave to be ‘dealt with’ (No). Its just a film about a women exploring a world she knows nothing about, and a man who often comes across like a total ass yet seems to be surrounded by people who love him for it (perhaps its more to do with his billions of dollars – who knows) But Fifty Shades Of Grey most certainly isn’t going to end up on my Worst Films of the Year and I would just say to people. Watch it and make your own mind up.

Fifty Shades of Grey is available now on Blu Ray, DVD and Digital. 

The Unseen Edition is available on Blu Ray