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Let’s cut straight to the chase. Fifty Shades is a phenomenon. It’s spawned four bestselling novels and two blockbuster movies, made British author EL James rich beyond her wildest dreams, and triggered the ongoing popularity of the appealingly discreet e-reader on public transport.

James’ infamous erotic tales of a certain Mr Grey began life online – oddly enough – as self-published Twilight fan fiction. When they grew in popularity, she re-worked the story into a tantalising trilogy, the first of which – Fifty Shades Of Grey – became a major word-of-mouth hit as an e-book and an even bigger success when it hit shelves in 2011. The first movie adaptation, from acclaimed director Sam Taylor-Johnson, arrived in time for Valentine’s Day 2015. It became a box office smash, making more than half a billion dollars around the world. That’s a lot of dough.

No surprise, then, that follow-up Fifty Shades Darker has proved one of 2017’s biggest hits. Anastasia Steele (How To Be Single’s Dakota Johnson) and Christian Grey (The Fall’s Jamie Dornan) are drawn back together for a second bout of bumpy romance in this stylish and sexy thriller – where night skies are either filled with fireworks or hurling down heavy, shirt-drenching rain, in a world of masquerade balls and opulent penthouse glamour.

But there’s more to the movie than its risqué romantic entanglements. Director James Foley (Hannibal, Wayward Pines) allows the drama to shift into straight-up thriller territory as Grey’s shadowy past throws out a few nasty surprises. And there’s a massive treat of a supporting turn from the one and only Kim Basinger (star of the blockbuster 1980s erotic thriller 9½ Weeks) as Grey’s one-time mentor.

Best of all, though, is the undeniable chemistry between Dornan and Johnson. The first Fifty Shades made a star of Johnson (the daughter of Miami Vice’s Don Johnson and Working Girl’s Melanie Griffith), and she has a down-to-earth, girl-next-door appeal that captivates from start to finish. Dornan is the perfect foil, with a calm surface belying his character’s inner turmoil. If Fifty Shades Darker is about Ana ultimately refusing to be manipulated and getting what she wants on her own terms, then Johnson herself is no mere passenger on the Fifty Shades juggernaut. Sparky and smart, she’s a big reason for the movies’ massive success.

Fifty Shades Darker is available now in Sky Cinema on demand. Cert 18. Also available in HD

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Image credits: Fifty Shades Darker © Universal Pictures