Parents' Guide to

Fifty Shades Freed

By Sandie Angulo Chen, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 18+

Third and final movie has more bland sex, even less plot.

Movie R 2018 101 minutes
Fifty Shades Freed Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

See all
age 17+

Based on 22 parent reviews

Sarah S.
Sarah S. Adult
January 15, 2023
age 18+

#DISGUSTING and a SIN

This whole sequel should be named fifty ways F***** UP. This movie is worse than a DEVIL's nature. It is sickening how this movie portrays/expresses sexual abuse, rape and coercion as a good thing. Like how the heck is sexual bondage and sex slavery (which Anastasia is portrayed as in the whole sequel) a good thing ? This movie all proves how the directors mind is messed up as well. They couldn't even express BDSM accurately either. Why make a movie (in fact a whole sequel) when you don't even care about its impact on the viewers. The director directed this movie just for his own entertainment #sick man.

This title has:

Too much violence
Too much sex
jcmcdowell
jcmcdowell Adult
November 26, 2022
age 18+

One more piece of cinema for no one!

This is something for no one. I haven’t seen this movie, but I know that it is borderline porn and it is even disturbing to plenty of mature adults. I can’t believe E. L. James would write a yet one more book for the series and filmmakers would spend so much time making a film adaptation of it. There is no positive information of sex to be gathered from seeing this movie or reading the book. I’ve heard that it’s just sex, and in order to make a great story, there can’t be so much mature and disturbing content in every scene that it’s not enjoyable. It’s just about the wrong way to handle sex in a romantic relationship. No one should see this movie.

This title has:

Too much violence
Too much sex
Too much swearing
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
See all 22 parent reviews

What's the Story?

FIFTY SHADES FREED begins with the wedding of Anastasia Steele (Dakota Johnson) and Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan), who immediately rush off to their luxurious honeymoon on a private plane. After sightseeing and making love around the world, the new Mr. and Mrs. Grey are forced to return to Seattle when Christian is told that an arsonist set fire to his company's server room. The perpetrator is Jack Hyde (Eric Johnson), Ana's former boss and attacker. After Jack is arrested for the fire, the Greys continue their life as newlyweds: Ana is promoted to a position that even she's not sure she deserves, and Christian mopes about Ana's commitment to her work. Ana calls Christian out when he lapses back into controlling possessiveness. They also buy a fixer-upper mansion, travel with friends, have a lot of sex, and then deal with Jack again.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (22):
Kids say (18):

Although Johnson tries to liven up the wooden dialogue, this third and final installment is still a plot-free excuse to show the chemistry-less Greys having lots of sex in beautiful locales. Dornan, who's a decent actor in non-Fifty Shades projects -- particularly the gritty crime drama The Fall -- finally looks comfortable in his role, but Christian is still a deeply flawed, unlikable, mostly undeveloped character. The filmmakers tell but don't show him dealing with his past. He's just a walking piece of wish fulfillment, not a fully fleshed-out human character. And let's not even mention the ridiculous way in which Anastasia is promoted (due to nepotism) at work. The fact that Christian feels free to barge into an important meeting she's having with a star author to demand that she explain why she didn't immediately change her email address from "Ana Steele" to "Ana Grey" is perhaps one of the worst marital conversations ever portrayed on the big screen.

What makes this movie and Fifty Shades Darker even bigger disappointments than the original is that there's basically no plot. Like a more polished, big-budget version of late-night cable erotica, Fifty Shades Freed is pretty much just a series of artfully shot sex scenes (director James Foley loves to zoom in on Johnson's breasts) separated by the thinnest of narrative structures and poorly executed characterization. By the time Ana's unsurprising pregnancy enters the picture, it's that much more obvious that this movie isn't so much a climax but an anticlimax. But if all you're craving is a movie with plenty of graphic love scenes and luxe interiors, this is a fine pick.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about how sex is depicted in Fifty Shades Freed. Is Ana and Christian's marriage/relationship healthy? Parents, talk to your teens about your own values regarding sex and relationships.

  • Why do you think the Fifty Shades books and movies are popular? Is it an appropriate saga for teens? The author began her story as Twilight fan fiction; can you recognize traces of Edward and Bella in these characters?

  • Which, if any, of the characters are role models? Are they sympathetic? Why, or why not?

Movie Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

See all recommended movie lists

Related Topics

Want suggestions based on your streaming services? Get personalized recommendations

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate