Fifty Shades of Grey: CBC staffers, public review the new movie

Fifty Shades of Grey fans have remained rapt through months of anticipation and sometimes furious speculation over the film adaptation of the bestselling book.

The road to the big screen has not been a smooth one.

Contentious casting choices, word that British author E.L. James's explicit sex scenes would be toned down, and even allegations that the movie glorifiesabusive relationshipsall threatened to turn off fans before the film premiered.

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But every lashing of criticism seemed to further feed frenzy of hype aroundthe movie, which centres on a dowdy literature student (Dakota Johnson) at Washington State Universitywho gets drawn into a dominant/submissive affair with a powerfulbillionaire (Jamie Dornan).

Fans will get their first chance to see ifFifty Shades lives up to thebuildup when itmakes its long-awaited premierein Canadian theatres today.

On Wednesday night, CBC Arts journalists attended a media preview in Toronto of the movie along with a few members of the public.

Here are some of thethoughts of those who took in the film (some only wanted their first names used):

Lindsay Wasserman: "It's interesting. They have nice chemistry between Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson. It's a nice little relationship although there are some parts that are a little bit ...if you wanna go to a movie with your mom or your dad, I wouldn't recommend it. It's not a bad movie, it's actually better than I expected, so if you want to spend $12 and you want see it, I say why not."

Christie: "I read all three books, so it was great seeing the movie. There were a lot of people [in the theatre], so it was great to be in that place with all that energy as well.If you read the book, you can expect a little bit less of a hardcore cinematic presentation of it, but I really liked it. The soundtrack was great, the actors were really great and I'm really excited to see the next two [Fifty Shades movies]."

Christina: I absolutely loved it.I'm a little bit disappointed it came to an end. To be quite honest, I think there could've been a bit more [explicit sexuality], but I'm open-minded, I'm comfortable with it ...I don't think [the movie]encourages abusive relationships because it was all consensual.[Christian Grey] said, 'If you're comfortable with it, do what you're comfortable with.'He totally left it in her hands."

Celia: "It was a good moviethe book come to life. It's not for everybody. There are some scenes in it that might offend some people.I just took it lightly.It is a little bit of a shock when you see the scene compared to what you read in a book. When you actually see a scene come to life, it shocks you a little bit."

Ilana Banks, CBC producer: "Sam Taylor-Johnson and screenwriter Kelly Marcel have saved Fifty Shades of Grey from itself, or rather from its poor source material. It is beautifully shot and the cringe-worthy dialogue from the book has largely been turned tongue-in-cheek in the film. While the captivating Dakota Johnson, as Anastasia, brings a spark and strength to the role, Jamie Dornan, as Christian Grey, seems a little too bland to be bad. The pair do have the right amount of spark. But this is no love story. Instead it is a rather disturbing tale of a powerful man trying to convince a young woman into a dominant/submissive relationship. A fun girls' night out at the theatre? I dont think so."

Deana Sumanac-Johnson: "Sam Taylor-Johnson squeezes the most she can out of a book bestknown for flogging the rules of good writing into submission. (OK, maybe it's not BEST known for that.) In many ways, this film is an improvement over the material that inspired it: Taylor-Johnson makes virginal Anastasia Steele more assertive and three-dimensional than her paperback counterpart, a task aided by Dakota Johnson's charming performance (which kind of reminded me of her mother Melanie Griffith in Working Girl, a fact that's disturbing in an entirely different way).The sex scenes are not as lurid as they were rumoured to be, but Christian Grey's psychological and physical cornering of Anastasia Steele is still there, still uncomfortable, and still to me at least anything but sexy.

Watch more of their reactions in the video above.

CBC's film criticEliGlasnergives his breakdown of the film here.