FIFTY SHADES FREED

R, 105 minutes. Waterford. The “Fifty Shades” film franchise is a study in contradictions. It’s kinky, but conservative. It’s filled with plot, but none of it means anything. The adventurous sex turns out to be fairly vanilla monogamy. The films are bad, but they are entertaining. “Fifty Shades Freed,” the final film of the trilogy, just might be the most competently made yet — which is a shame for those expecting the high camp factor of “Fifty Shades Darker.” The “Darker” writing and directing team is back for “Freed,” with Niall Leonard, E.L. James’s husband, adapting his wife’s erotic novel for the screen, and James Foley taking on directing duties. In “Freed,” Seattle book editor and weekend sexual submissive Anastasia Steele (Dakota Johnson) has managed to pin down her dom daddy Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan) — in holy matrimony. Their relationship has always more of a power struggle than a partnership. The plot, which drifts from scene to scene, casually inserting kidnappings and car chases among the lavish vacations and sexy romps, involves Anastasia’s former boss, Jack Hyde (Eric Johnson), seeking revenge on the recently married couple. — Katie Walsh, Tribune Content Agency

GAME NIGHT

stooge gets lost, only to find himself, south of the border, in the mostly middling action-comedy “Gringo,” directed by Nash Edgerton (brother of Joel). David Oyelowo tests out his comedy chops as Harold, a nice-guy Nigerian immigrant scraping by and scrapping for his slice of the American Dream, which involves an inattentive wife (Thandie Newton), a tiny dog, a mountain of debt and a couple of truly abusive, criminal individuals as bosses. Living the dream. — Katie Walsh, Tribune Content Agency