Over the past few weeks I've had the chance to experience the Fifty Shades of Grey and Fifty Shades Darker movies, which recently came out. My friends took me to see it on opening night with my boyfriend and let me tell you that was an experience. The Fifty Shades of Grey franchise is definitely out there, in the sense that the films aren't exactly "normal." The book series originated from Twilight fan fiction, and went on to become something bigger.

When Fifty Shades of Grey originally was published I thought it was stupid. I would see excerpts of the book and just burst out laughing. But then I saw the movie, and it was a whole other experience. Over the past few years I've gotten less judgmental about people's taste in sexual activities, so by the time I watched Fifty Shades of Grey I was actually pretty understanding of the dominant and submissive relationship. After watching the movie more than once (I admit that with no shame), I realized the relationship between Anna and Christian was a bit unhealthy. The movie itself had some (many) awkward moments that made me cringe. Looking at the previews for Fifty Shades Darker I expected more from it than its predecessor, and the movie delivered.

Fifty Shades Darker focused on building a real romantic relationship between the main characters, Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey. They had broken up in the previous film (SPOILERS). Christian seeks out Anna and wants to start over, and have a "vanilla" relationship. Anna accepts, and the two of them end up having romantic feelings for each other instead of just sexual ones. It is heartwarming to see the two characters fall in love, which is a lot different than the first movie.

The relationship is much more wholesome and fulfilling for both characters. Also, the movie itself is a lot less awkward than the first one. This may be because the actors were more used to working with each other. Fifty Shades Darker was truly a romantic movie. It could be considered more of a couples movie than the first one, Fifty Shades of Grey. It is pretty important to watch the first movie then the second one to understand the story. If you were to just watch Fifty Shades Darker you would probably be confused about the relationships of the characters. I enjoyed Fifty Shades Darker much more than the first movie, and it even made me laugh a few times.

I don't recommend this movie for anybody under seventeen years old (it's rated R for a reason). It has many mature themes and includes a lot of sex, which isn't very appropriate. It also has a lot of cursing. I feel like women would generally enjoy this movie more than men, but it could also be a romantic film to see with a partner. It is more romantic than the first film.

The Fifty Shades franchise is set to release a third movie based off of the third book, Fifty Shades Freed. I don't know much about what happens in the book but the end of Fifty Shades Darker had quite the cliffhanger and I am excited to see what happens next. Considering I liked the second movie more than the first, I'm hoping the third movie will top everything off and make a completely beautiful trilogy. I have big hopes for Fifty Shades Freed, and I hope the movie lives up to them.

Overall, I have a new spot in my heart for the Fifty Shades movies.