After months of anticipation, Fifty Shades of Grey fans are about to get their first cinematic look at the mega-selling story that generated international headlines, book clubs, and more than a few blush-inducing bus rides for addicted readers.

In case your electricity has been out for the last four years, Fifty Shades of Grey is the first in E.L. James's erotic lit trilogy about the sexual awakening of an young female student at the hands of a handsome and powerful billionaire, Christian Grey.

Fans looking for the same sexual charge they found flipping through James's paperback pages might find the big screen adaptation disappointingly flat.

"The sex scenes are not exactly hot," says CBC film critic Eli Glasner.

"Although director Sam Taylor-Johnson beautifully photographed the pair, the sex scenes are clinical and cliché. All arched backs and gasps"

As for the script, Dakota Johnson "makes the most of the breathless dialogue" as the doe-eyed Anastasia Steel, but Jamie Dornan is plastic as Christian Steele, who comes off as "the Bruce Wayne of the BDSM community," says Glasner.

Fifty Shades of Grey goes into wide release on today. Check out fan reviews of the film here, and be sure to watch Eli's full review in the video above.