Review of Basic Instinct 2 (2006) by Mutlu T — 25 Mar 2014

I had really little expectations for Basic Instict 2 because the plot sounded terrible and there is no way it could match up to the quality of its predecessor which already had a poor story and simply benefited from the mix of nudity and thrills.

Basic Instinct 2 is just dull. The entire film has a really generic storyline which is basically a rehash of the plot from the predecessor, and the entire time it is obvious what is happening. And so when the twist ending happens, viewers are likely to just sit there and say "That is literally impossible, the writing in this film is crap, clearly Catherine Tramell is obviously the killer again." The ending is an example of one of the worst twist endings in film history, and it is so unbelievable that it completely kills whatever enjoyment audiences may have been having up until now.

Anyone who has seen Basic Instinct will know the true nature behind Basic Instinct 2 and the fact that the killer is right in front of your eyes. And so why a film wastes its entire time with something that is obvious after the preceding film already did the exact same thing is completely senseless. To put it blankly, the film's title dictates that it a very basic feature and it is a terrible sequel to a film which was good, but not great.

Basic Instinct 2 defies what made Basic Instinct important and simply sinks into being another example of a terrible sequel. Basic Instinct was interesting not because of the plot, but because of the theme of how the protagonist developed a relentless sexual obsession with the manipulative Catherine Tramell and how he became less and less sane as the story unravelled and he became more and more involved in a murder case where she is the main suspect. In Basic Instinct 2, we see a pathetic protagonist who evokes memories of the character played by Michael Douglas in Basic Instinct and simply dissolves into the repetitive and mediocre writing that the film suffers under. The protagonist is played by David Morrissey who proves in his role that he has the ambition, but he just needs better material to work with. Facing a terrible character to work with and lacklustre direction from Michael Caton-Jones which essentially ended his career as a filmmaker, David Morrissey simply does all he can. He faces severe limitations, but he ends up giving a decent, if repetitive performance. Unfortunately, he along with the entire cast faces the weakness of not only poor direction, but a terrible lacklustre script.

The script in Basic Instinct 2 is memorable simply because it is too rude. There is too much course language in the film with the actors saying f*ck at every second from the start of the film, and then from there it loses its swearing but gains no intelligence and dissolves into an endless path of poor dialogue on a repetitive streak until the end of the long and boring 116 minutes have finally come to an end.

Frankly, practically everything is wrong with Basic Instinct 2. It is an unnecessary sequel which isn't nearly as sexy or thrilling as its predecessor, and it manages to top Basic Instinct only in having a more absurd plot than its predecessor. The writing is terrible, the direction is terrible, and frankly the film is simply set up to fail from the beginning. The only potential the film really had came from the quantity of nudity and the characterisation of its sexy antagonist, Catherine Tramell. So most of the entertainment in Basic Instinct 2 rests on how the film treats Sharon Stone and her performance.

The film doesn't treat her well because it barely offers her enough situations to show off her seductive and dark side at the same time, instead relying more solely on her dark character elements in a very repetitive way the whole film. The film barely gives her enough screen time as well, so it gets to caught up in its own senselessness and indulgence to really capitalise on the character it maintains that makes it stand out from other thriller films.

So from there, the only thing that has potentially in Basic Instinct 2 is the performance of Sharon Stone.

Sharon Stone's performance is streets behind the quality of her performance in the first Basic Instinct, but she does the necessary job to pass. Although, she does have some seriously weak moments. When Sharon Stone says "I'm traumatised" she shows that she is as worried as Kristen Stewart when realising she has run out of M&Ms. So that is an example of a weak moment, but as far as she goes for the majority of the film she does enough to pass. She debated with the producers of the film about how much nudity she should have incorporated into Basic Instinct 2 with it being her opinion that there should be more, and considering the fact that its predecessor was one of the most sexy yet thrilling films in the erotic thriller genre, it is only sensible that Basic Instinct 2 follow in its footsteps. And while unfortunately that is not the case, Sharon Stone is still very sexy in Basic Instinct 2. She doesn't have much screen time or show off her body much, but when she does it is undeniably sexy, and when that matches the darkly sadistic characteristics of her performance, the result is a sexually appealing and dark performance which succeeds even if it doesn't match up to the quality of her first performance as Catherine Tramell. While Sharon Stone is not at her best in Basic Instinct 2, she has enough sex appeal and sadism in her performance to overshadow the quality of the film itself. She has her bumps, but she is most definitely the best aspect of the film because she at least makes the film feel a little more genuine.

But aside from Sharon Stone's presence. Basic Instinct 2 is an example of a ridiculously senseless thriller which is short on erotic themes and insufficient in thrills or a sensible plot which begins randomly and charters through dull and repetitive territory until it finally comes to an end with an unsatisfying final act. Basic Instinct 2 is a bad film and an even worse sequel.