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It's not like I have overwhelmingly fond memories of Verhoeven's original pants-down shocker - it always struck me as a glossy, well-made airport-novel-of-a-movie. Thrilling, sexy trash, but trash nonetheless. It was also a film that tapped into a certain sexual zeitgeist. After a decade of anti-sex AIDS-induced hysteria, a film about a wildly-sexual hotbod who thrill-kills to heighten her sexual pleasure was pretty enticing stuff. Basic Instinct 2 was always going to struggle to provide the same social relevance and immediacy, so the fact that it's desperate attempts at raunchiness are so lame can sort-of be overlooked. All it really had to provide was that thin veneer of titillation and a mildly engaging story and all would have been watchable. That it resoundingly fails on so many levels, and in such a way to be a career nadir for everyone involved, is really quite extraordinary to watch. Let's state the obvious for starters - Sharon Stone is too old for the part of sexual magnet Catherine Trammell. What was so photogenic thru Verhoeven's lens looks like mutton dressed as lamb in the hands of gun-for-hire Michael Caton-Jones, who's flat, drab colours and static camera render her undeniable beauty totally moot. I like Sharon Stone a lot, but if the first film launched her career, BI2 could kill it. She has no chemistry with stuffed-shirt David Morrissey - their only sex scene is embarrassing too watch. His dough-faced mamma's boy of a character made me yearn for the swaggering, orange-skin machismo of Michael Douglas. Supporting turns by David Thewlis and Charlotte Rampling waste these fine actors on talky exposition scenes and cliché-heavy posturing. And what of the much-touted sexual shenanigans? Poorly-lit, fleetingly-glimpsed, as utterly mainstream as an episode of Desperate Housewives - the European sensibilities that Verhoeven brought to the sexual content of the first film are sorely missed. Don't watch this film for carnal thrills - there are none and what there is is tragic. The film is, as a whole, convoluted to the point of utter confusion, boring and laughable. The last 40 minutes in particular, where you come to the realisation that the film is, in fact, not going to go anywhere of interest at all, are particularly gruelling and hilarious in equal measure. As a failed sequel, Basic Instinct 2 will come to occupy similar cinematic ground as Exorcist 2 The Heretic, Beyond The Poseidon Adventure and XXX2. As a vanity project, it rivals Battlefield Earth in its misconception. As a multi-million dollar piece of Hollywood film-making, it's a travesty that will be hard to top as the years worst.

Well, I saw this movie yesterday and it's - unfortunately - worse than you could think. First of all the plot is idiotic, it has no sense at all. The screenplay is full of intentionally funny dialogues. The audience was laughing many times. And the suspense is very low. Actors play so-so, with an exception of Sharon Stone, who has some good moments but also some awfully bad acting moments. The saddest parts are when she tries to be aggressively sexy and says things like "I want to *beep* you " and it looks like, let's say it gently, a very very mature woman acting rude and not sexy at all. That erotic tension from BI1 is totally gone. From the technical point of Basic Instinct 2 is a mediocre movie - better than typical straight to DVD, but on a far lower lever than the original movie. For instance the scene of crazy joyride is done poorly. The director of Basic Instinct 2 is no Paul Verhoeven and it shows. The new composer is no Jerry Goldsmith and its shows. The script is done by people who are no match for Joe Eszterhas. There's no substitute for Michael Douglas in it. The film looks cheap and badly edited at times. I'm sorry but my first thought after I left the theater was: "Why heaven't they made this movie earlier and with original talents behind the success of the first movie?" All to all the original movie is like Citizen Kane compared to this. The first Basic Instinct is a classic and was a kind of break-thru in the popular cinema. It was provoking, sexy and controversial. It had the best Sharon Stone's performance in her career. It had this specific Paul Verhoeven's style. Unfortunately Basic Instinct 2 is a unintentionally funny movie, badly directed and a sure Razzie Award Winner in many categories. It's a pity that they made this film.

I saw this film at the London Premiere, and I have to say - I didn't expect much, but I did expect something that was at least mildly entertaining.

The original "Basic Instinct" was no great film and is still something of a "smut classic" but it was entertaining. I can recall countless times flipping through channels on TV on a late Friday or Saturday night having come across the movie and finding myself beginning to actually pay attention to it.

However, this lame-brain, waaay-belated sequel has nothing. Is Sharon Stone still gorgeous? Well, let's put it this way -- for a 47-year-old, she's pretty hot. Is she as beautiful as she was in the original? No. She also has clearly had plastic surgery on her face, and her haircut in this movie is somewhat unappealing. She doesn't look as soft or genuine or innocent as she did in the original -- which is sort of the whole point of being an evil seductress, and whatnot.

The rest of the performances range from bad to terrible -- and Michael Caton-Jones (a typically safe director -- one who doesn't always do great work but manages to make worthwhile movies) has officially delivered his first true turkey; a movie so bad people were laughing at certain moments that were intended to be serious.

I hear the film went through multiple editing sessions, and it's very clear from the start. Nothing makes much sense. The whole plot is a cosmic mess and the ending -- oh my! Talk about stupid AND unbelievable. (Still predictable, though.) I saw "Gigli," I saw "Son of the Mask" -- and although I'm not looking to "smear" this film, I can say with my own authority (which you don't have to agree with at all, mind you) that I prefer both those films over this catastrophic failure.

By the way, Stone left five minutes before the movie began and people in the theater began throwing things at the screen during a particularly outrageous and insulting scene inside an orgy-type nightclub.

"Basic Instinct 2" -- basically, it stinks, too.

In my book "Basic Instinct" was a perfect film. It had outstanding acting on the parts of Stone, Douglas and all the supporting actors to the tiniest role. It had marvelous photography, music and the noirest noir script ever. All of it adding up to a film that is as good as it will ever get!

This sequel is the exact opposite, it cannot possibly get worse, bad acting and a lame script, combined with totally inept direction, this is really bad, boring, annoying. The only thing that somewhat keeps you concentrated is the relatively short wait for the next scene that is an exact re-enacted copy of the original. These copies are so bad they make you laugh and I laughed a lot in spite of myself, because it was like watching the demolishing of a shining monument. The only thing that is good in this horrible mess are the excerpts of the Jerry Goldsmith score of BI1. Michael Caton-Jones and the half-wit responsible for the script even included the "There is no smoking in this room" dialog in the interrogation scene and yes she sends her attorney (who is now a solicitor) away!

I am sorry I have seen this awful film that should have never been made! It does damage to the original, so bad is it. The only redeeming value is the realization that cosmetic surgery (and I am sure Ms Stone afforded the best surgeon money can buy) can do a good job but can obviously not restore the perfection of the original. And what concerns the human body applies to film-making, too. There should be a law: Don't ever make a sequel to a perfect film!

.....and stayed away. This movie was like a really, really, bad parody of itself. Where to begin? Sharon Stone. She looks "good" for her age.......the last three words are imperative to follow the first three. Never once did her highly BOTOX-ed brow move. She was angry? Nothing. She was smiling? Nada. And the sneer! Too much. Her constant monotone delivery did nothing to help the audience stay awake- and I noticed 3 movie goers dozing in my area within the first 45 minutes! David Morrissey wasn't much better. His weak, sniveling character was totally implausible for a shrink. (She WASN'T "all that"!!) Michael Douglas, he ain't! And speaking of Michael Douglas....they sure paid homage to the absent -but sorely needed actor: Shrink's name? Michael. Stone's name? Catherine. And the shrink was trying to earn the "Douglas" award. In a better script, with better actors, it could have allowed for some comic relief, but near the end of the movie when one character emits an overly-long anguished scream, I found myself, with the rest of the audience, wishing I could do the same aloud, instead of inwardly. Sharon, PLEASE, I beg of you, if they come around (which is doubtful) with BI-3, "Just say NO!" You're already too long in the tooth to play the original seductress. Everyone was laughing at you! Minus one star from me! This was an abominable waste of time and money. It's destined to be a 2 week (max) runner.....

PS It's now 4/22, and apparently I was right. It's not to be found anywhere around here!!

Seriously,

I felt like I developed a tumor in my head after watching this movie. The movie is so pathetic and it should have been in the category of a comedy. Sharon stone is old and she looks like an ugly witch. The story line is so weak and none of the characters were impressive with their performances. There was no suspense, the sexual scenes are horrible and finally it was a real pain to watch the movie. At least there should have been an end to the story in the sequel after watching all that crap. Instead watch either a pure thriller or a porno. I would not suggest this movie to anyone.....especially to people who might fall into the trap of watching Sharon... No she is not hot at all.....It so funny that she at grandmother's age had done this film. Actually I thought of giving a zero to this film, but unfortunately there is no zero here.

I was a huge fan of the original Basic Instint but this film completely annihalates the legacy of the first. Where do I even start? The plot is virtually non existent with the three dimensional Trammell from the first film turned into a pathetic caricature of what she once was, spouting awful sexual innuendoes like a cheap prostitute! David Morrissey is completely and utterly incompetent! He looks like a little boy looking for his mother, and he only serves to prove how sorely Michael Douglas' presence is missed from this film! The story is excruciating! It does not make sense in the slightest and all the actors look bored and the cheap sex scenes look like they were tacked on as an after thought. All up, I hated this movie and it is really hard to imagine any film in 2006 being worse than this!

This is awful stuff but not for the obvious reasons. The most offensive aspect of this too-delinquent 2006 sequel to the 1992 box office hit is that it pretends to be a double-dip psychological thriller as well as yet another did-she-or-didn't-she sex crime story. Personally, I think there was great potential to turn this into a very black comedy about female empowerment, but the irony seems lost on the filmmakers. The net effect of all this heavy lifting in the plot is this enervating feeling that the movie will never end. The overly complicated screenplay by Leora Barish and Henry Bean is not the only culprit here, as Michael Caton-Jones' direction is pedestrian and plodding. Even the explicit sex scenes are captured in a rather clinical manner that generates nothing close to heat.

The plot picks up crime novelist Catherine Tramell years (fourteen to be exact) after her San Francisco police troubles. Relocated to London, she gets implicated in the car crash death of her soccer player lover (she, of course, was driving). Enter police psychologist Dr. Michael Glass to assess her mental state, and the sexually oriented dangers from the first movie get recycled in this story. People start to get murdered. Inevitably, Glass gets painted into a corner, while Catherine keeps one step ahead of everyone else. It seems beside the point that Sharon Stone looks great for 47, though there is a surgical aura about her beauty (whether or not this is the case). Her nihilistic character has not been empowered by the intervening years but flattened into a one-note Machiavellian nymphomaniac, all knowing looks and come-ons with nary a trace of humanity. The fun in her performance has been deflated to fit the constant contrivances of the plot turns.

She gets no help from her pasty-looking leading man, David Morrissey, who looks and sounds like the younger brother of Liam Neeson. He lacks the charisma and primal instincts to get away with Glass' quicksilver changes in behavior, especially in the sex scenes. The most inspired in-joke is placing the doctor's office in London's phallic-looking Swiss Re building. It seems a shame to recruit two world-class actors in supporting roles only to waste them – David Thewlis plays the suspicious police inspector, and Charlotte Rampling, looking spectacular at sixty (and a lesson in humility for Ms.Stone), as Glass' more seasoned colleague. Suffice it to say that the last five minutes are absurd to the extreme with no sense of viewer satisfaction over the conclusion.

The journey from theaters to DVD has been an unsurprisingly fast one, and the disc includes Caton-Jones' rather bored commentary on an alternative track, and there are several deleted scenes all wisely excised. In fact, not enough was excised for my taste. There is also a disposable ten-minute making-of featurette where there is mention (or dare I say, the threat) of a "Basic Instinct 3". Perhaps they can get Dakota Fanning for the role.

This is a terrible follow up the 1992 Sharon stone classic, stone reprises her role as the whole from the first movie who does her usual to get what she wants and boy does she? Now the first movie had dark style, great acting, great suspense, seduction, power, intrigue and image, this one has zero, just poor acting, poor screenplay, no image, no dark style, just pathetic after pathetic, after pathetic, after pathetic, I Remember when I Saw basic instinct on home video, it had character and seduction, this is just a stupid repeat of the first movie and a rehash.

This is not only the worst films of the year, but the worst films of the decade and the worst sequel since the whole ten yards two years ago.

Director Michael Canton Jones who also gave us that shamefully awful remake the jackal, shames us once again with this mess.

This is a pathetic piece of junk.

I'm sticking to the original.

I am not sure why Hollywood is so out of touch with the real world like George Clooney said in his Oscar speech, but well its true. You only need to watch this movie to see what I'm talking about or not. I mean you could just take my word for it and save yourself the cinema ticket and more importantly the two hours that you're gonna sit there fighting to stop yourself from doing all sort of unimaginable things to all those responsible for making you suffer the agony that is this movie.

They tried too hard with this movie, trying to make something out of nothing. You want to see a plot with twists and turns, watch seven, watch the usual suspects! They were huge hits and no one took their clothes off! The dialogue is full of clichés and reminds you of all those B movies only except you wouldn't pay to watch a B movie. The sex in this movie was needless, pointless. In BS1 it was part of the story...It was original and thrilling and there was chemistry! This time around it was Granny Stone forcing herself onto the Pillsbury Dough boy. Forced, awful and just peppered in wherever they could fit it. I guess they were trying to follow the old Hollywood concept...you gotta strip to make a hit but what they forgot was that this does not apply to Grannies! I mean what is that woman thinking! She nearing here 50's! Yes the big 50! Keep your clothes on woman, for god sakes, regardless of how much cosmetic surgery you've had! So it all that bad you ask....well its worse! However there are some good things, the locations are stunning, sharp and slick. Along the way there are some thrills to be had but above all, after watching this movie you sort of get the feeling that Ms Stone has probably stripped on screen for the final time and well there is comfort in that. I mean if this movie were a box office hit, you could be sure to see Ms Stone strip again when in 14 years time! (ughhh ... shudder)

"Basic Instinct" is among my favourite films. I was really excited about this one. I mean, for about two years I'd been waiting for it. And I was extremely disappointed. This is one of the worst movies ever made. The story, the dialogues, the whole script, everything is cheesy as Hell. I mean really cheesy. It's like they throw a big ball of cheese straight at your face. They tried to make a "clever" film but it turned out to be unbelievably stupid. David Thewlis will never get a job after that movie. He's one of the worst actors out there. The ending was just as bad. It was utterly ridiculous. Why, Sharon, why?? The ending of the first movie was left to interpretation. Well, here they tried to do something similar.. But it failed miserably. The whole movie fails miserably on every imaginable level. Sharon flashes her V once again, but even THAT fails.. It is nothing compared to the interrogation scene. This one isn't subtle at all.. she was like "Hey LOOK everyone, LOOK, *THIS* is the moment! I'm showing it! Did you see?"... They tried to re-do the "Latour's Blue" scene as well, but still failed. They tried to re-do the anal rape scene from the first movie, but still failed. Also, in the first film, we discover that Catherine had an affair with Beth, cool. But in this one, she's just been having sex with everyone he knows... Wow, WHAT A TWIST! Hey THAT was clever!! Didn't see this one coming!! Anyways... Don't waste your money. I wanted to escape the theatre about an after an hour, but I wanted to see the ending. And guess what? The ending made it even worse.

*I re-watched this film when it came out on DVD, 'cause I thought maybe my expectations were too high when I saw it in theatres, but no. It was just as bad, if not even worse.

Basic Instinct 2 (G4 1130 pm Cinema 7 April 01, 2006) is pure trash. For all the hype and curiosity that was ingrained in me after watching all those Sharon-Stone-interrogation slapsticks, the movie completely failed to make me like it. Yes, she's still hot though she's technically old (a MILF for that reason) and the sight of her boobs makes one think "natural or synthetic?" However not even the best sexual connotations and denotations can save Basic Instinct 2 from bordering in the A-/B movie territory. Sure, it was all convoluted plots galore but not in the sense that it was whole new idea but rather it was one subplot within a bigger plot altogether.

It's not as if most of the people were watching it for the storyline or Sharon Stone's acting. I bet most people inside the theater basically went in just to see how Sharon Stone would look like in the role that made her famous a decade or so after. Sure, Sharon Stone is still in the league of Demi Moore, but who really cares? I guess this is what you get for watching 2 movies in a row just for the sake of doing something. I want my money back!

http://kingdelrosario.wordpress.com/2006/04/01/back-to-basics/

quite how this lame, inept and ridiculous sequel ever managed to fail in all departments is a complete wonder and a testament that even modern day filmmakers can still assemble a bona fide turkey on such a grand scale when they really want to. sharon stone still looks good at 48 but her stale reenactment of evil diva catherine trammell now comes across as a stale party piece. David morrissey is totally wasted in the Micheal douglas role (albeit this time as a brainless shrink) added with a leaden script with even more holes in it than a piece of swiss cheese after the first film. Micheal caton jones is a worthwhile and competent UK film director but he seems to have either taken the money and ran or been asleep on the job to have ever been credited for this sorry load of cobblers. the ending is a total joke and it's so obvious that indeed gaping plot scenarious were left on the cutting room floor when the entire enterprise should have also been binned in the first place.

Why did a sequel take exactly 14 years to reach the silver-screen theaters? Basic Instinct 2 answers it quickly and - you bet - not instinctively. Very soon Sharon Stone appears at the wheel of a super sports car. In less than ten minutes you already have the protagonist and the antagonist exchanging glances. And very soon the latter (the psychiatrist played by a reasonable David Morrissey), hired to perform a psychological evaluation, suspects that the writer Catherine Tramell (Stone) may have "plotted" a murder. Among the many weak points of the film, the excess of looks and whispers from the actress seems false and does not convince the viewer. If you are expecting another notorious leg-crossing scene, forget it. That scene from Basic Instinct (made by chance at the time) has been replaced by one that has Stone sitting on a chair with her back covered. (Do give free rein to your imagination, though).

The script has major slips in logic. The fact that the respected psychiatrist easily accepts the suspect as a patient was ridiculous. Even more serious was hearing the person in charge of supervising her (Charlotte Rampling, in a mini-role) express astonishment at Tramell's posture during a session with the following expression: "How Lacanian!?" This reveals, at the very least, that the scriptwriters were researching the subject, but forgot one very important detail: a professional would never accept this type of patient. Let alone calling and visiting the same person.

The ice pick, responsible for moments of tension in the original, still has a place, but is completely frozen in this sequence. The head turn of one of the victims at the time of death was worthy of comedy. And it is curious to see that, in the middle of the anti-smoking era, cigarettes were so glamorized. If the intention was to piggyback on the classics of film noir, it fell far short. Tramell was more like an anxious forty-something with an oral fixation than an emblematic character.

Even so, the development of the plot is even acceptable if you don't expect too much from it. Perhaps the most interesting point was a moment that hinted at another sex scene with lots of moaning, but it was someone dying. Another interesting point was the responsibility of a supporting character: the inspector. Unknown to the general public, actor David Thewlis was responsible for rare moments of inspired dialogue and touches of humor in his interrogations. Now it's up to you. Follow your instincts. And remember: a third episode is coming. And it could be directed by Sharon Stone!? Wow!! Or should it be meow!

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It is not like I'd preferred to have been sleeping instead of watching this movie, but I actually would gladly do something discomfortable in exchange to forgetting everything about it and to never have seen it.

I never had this experience before. I know now that there is a point in reading the posts before watching a movie, even if you don't pay for it.

The only agreeable thing in the movie was the first minute car ride, then nothing. The final was totally lame.

Sharon Stone is by no way appropriate for the role, yet if this movie was possible we should expect in 15 years the B.I.3 with she having the age of 60. I for one, will always avoid any movie that has the words "basic" and "instinct" in the title.

Best regards

A terrible film. Its hard to believe that Sharon Stone finally caved in and wanted to be involved in this mess. Its also hard to believe that this film was directed by Michael Caton Jones, the man behind Rob Roy, Scandal and This Boys Life, he MUST have done it for the money.

I had this idea that the plot of Basic Instinct 2 would have been the same as a personal favourite of mine called Last Embrace which starred Roy Scheider.

But no, its just a terrible remake of the first film where the 'hero' is not an edgy cop but a psychologist who needs a bloody good seeing to by Catherine Trammell.

While this plodded on, i found myself not caring about any of the characters, or the outcome which is utter garbage anyway.

AVOID!

STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning

After the case against her killing a famous footballer collapses, Catherine Trammell (Sharon Stone), now living in London, has a 'risk-addiction' report filed against her and is required to attend therapy sessions with psychologist Kevin Franks (David Morrissey.) Desperately trying to make sense of her mind, Franks instead finds his own mind being played with by the intelligent and seductive novelist and soon finds himself drawn into a thrilling but dangerous game of desire and deceit.

I'm glad I didn't have to pay to see this belated follow-up to 1992's original Basic Instinct (one of those films you just know will be awful before you've even seen it) and instead just got the chance to enjoy some great unintentional amusement for free. Alas, unintentional comedy was not what I was treated to, rather just one long, boring, seemingly never ending piece of pointless, cheap, exploitative, tacky artless crap. Quite possibly THE worst film of 2006, which also has to contend with some truly abysmal acting (including a cameo by controversial soccer ace Stan Collymore), a boring, meandering plot/script with no sense whatsoever of narrative structure or pace and even, God help it, some crap sex which fails to stimulate or arouse in any way. Ba-suck In-stinkt 2, indeed. Truly dire. NO STARS

This film is F***ing horrible, I recommend that everyone who has passed the age of puberty see it and then visit a shrink, this could serve as a cinematic rite of passage, or a way of immunizing future film goers. The attempt at film-noir is a high investment polished flop, the producers and director would have done better to film in black and white and concentrate less on adrenaline and testosterone/estrogen pumping...Sharon Stone without a doubt could play an excellent Bad Bitch , but the effort is wasted....they chose to show too much T&A under the false impression this would convey a sense of realism...The attempt failed. What a waste of talent. Maybe if every one goes to see the film Ms. Stone can make a few dollars and finish her days living frugally in a small Albanian or Turkish village ( if she gets paid % ) and the American or British Psychiatric association can reap the benefits of everyone trying their hand at manipulating a Psychologist....Go see it,but don't eat till afterward.

Unless you just want to watch the two minutes or so of steamy sex scenes choose another theater. I really enjoyed Basict Instinct, but they clearly should have stopped there. I would rival the acting in the film to an Angel Soft commercial (if you've never seen one - it's definitely not a compliment). Sharon Stone has taken overacting to a whole new level, maybe rivaling Jim Carey without a comedy. The plot is skin deep, and if it makes sense, predictable until a confusing ending that seems to lack any forethought as to a direction for the movie. Not the worst movie in the world, but maybe in the bottom 10. Watch something else - you'll thank me.

terrible plot flat acting horrendous hair and wardrobe. cheesier than an extra cheese pizza. totally un-sexy, Sharon stone was like a schizo muppett with a haircut courtesy of a blind person with Parkinson's's disease. Sharon stone made sex so unappealing. and wasn't the first one like 14 years ago. yeah it was, i was 13 then and totally had the hots for Sharon stone, of course now shes like 50 and desperately trying to be sexy. and somehow people think she still is. i guess the majority has set their standards very very low. anyways the budget for this movie could've went to starving Africans or something of that nature. boo hoo!