Rating summary

Movie		1.0
Video		2.0
Audio		2.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		2.0

Basic Instinct 2 Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov July 27, 2008

There are different reasons why we all remember Dutch director Paul Verhoeven’s Basic Instinct (1994) -the great suspense, the stylish camerawork, and, let’s be honest,” that” shot with Sharon Stone being interrogated. Fourteen years later we finally have a sequel - Basic Instinct 2: Risk Addiction (2006).

Successful and sexy novelist Catherine Tramell (Stone) is questioned by Dr. Michael Glass (Morrissey) who must determine whether or not she is capable of committing a murder. Or suicide, given what she reveals in front of a nervous police inspector from Scotland Yard after her car and the body of a well-known football player are found on the bottom of the Themes. Apparently Catherine has a “risk addiction” forcing her to perform reckless acts and Dr. Glass must determine how she should be treated. After a series of interviews he submits a lengthy report to the authorities.

Catherine however isn’t done with the doctor. She is convinced that he is worth the risk and the two become lovers. Shortly after dead bodies begin to appear. An ambitious cop (Thewlis) embarks on a mission to prove that Catherine is not who she pretends to be and all hell breaks loose.

Still irresistible?

After a fourteen-year hiatus and plenty of speculating whether or not there will be a sequel to Basic Instinct I must, unfortunately, admit that one should have never been made. For a number of reasons. All of them having to do with quality. Betting on plenty of sex, brash one-liners, and never-ending shots revealing the little that is left to reveal from Sharon Stone Basic Instinct 2 could well be one of the most disappointing sequels to be made in recent years. Flashy but unoriginal, explicit but dull, ambitious but disappointing this is a film that is so bad it comes dangerously close to actually being good. Unfortunately for those who might have hoped that similar to Vincent Gallo’s The Brown Bunny (2003) Michael Caton-Jones’ creature would find viewers willing to embrace its controversy…there isn’t any here at all. It is just bad cinema.

The main issue I have with Basic Instinct 2 has to do with the fact that its plot is utterly unoriginal. It is also painfully transparent. In fact, all of the main characters and their actions are so irrational, pretentious, and derisory that even the biggest fans of the mindless mish-mash of pseudo-entertainment Hollywood mass produces each year would have to agree that this one reeks from a mile. Aside from the occasional dirty-talking and fancy close-ups involving Sharon Stone there is nothing here that I could tolerate. Again, it is just bad cinema.

So, why was this film made? Was it because there were people who felt comfortable reading the script? Or, was it because someone saw an opportunity to exploit the legacy of a cult picture that did not need a sequel to begin with? If it was the former then I must admit that Hollywood has certainly reached a new low where even the most ridiculous of scripts could gather some much undeserved attention. How pathetic. If it was the latter, then, I certainly hope that this is the last time any such enthusiasm is paid attention to.

Basic Instinct 2 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Basic Instinct 2 arrives on Blu-ray presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.40:1 and encoded at 1080p. Unfortunately, this was one of SONY's last MPEG-2 discs and there is a lot here that I am unhappy with. Detail for instance is average at best with large portions of the transfer revealing questionable balance as well as unintentional softness. Color reproduction is equally substandard often translating in an overall anemic looking picture quality which many will undoubtedly be irritated with. Furthermore, there appears to be a heavy dose of overcompression which those of you with large enough screens will clearly notice (a good example is the tunnel scene in the beginning of the film, right before the crash). On the other hand I also see a dramatic discrepancy between nighttime and daytime color saturation which I am convinced isn't intentional. To sum it all up this is an average at best produced disc with a multitude of issues truly having an impact on how the main feature is seen.

Basic Instinct 2 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Presented with English PCM 5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1, and French Dub 5.1 tracks the audio treatment isn't too far off the video presentation described above. What we have here is a rather inconsistent mixing with plenty of issues. The PCM mix for example isn't as balanced and strikingly clear as it should be (for such a recent film I am quite disappointed to see how less than aggressive the sound treatment was). Aside from a few of the flashy action scenes there really isn't much here to be wowed with. On a positive side the dialog is predominantly clear and very easy to follow. Optional English and French subtitles are provided for the main feature as well as English SDH.

Basic Instinct 2 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

For this BD release SONY have provided only a short behind-the-scenes type of a featurette titled "Between the Sheets: A Look Inside Basic Instinct 2"which is nothing more than a collection of meaningless comments from the cast highlighting how incredible the story of the sequel is. Unfortunately a lot of the comments made here actually pinpoint precisely the area where the film fails – script, execution, acting, directing. Next, there is a full-blown commentary with the director of the film Michael Caton-Jones where he goes in depth discussing how this entire project was made possible, the technical difficulties the cast and crew had to overcome. He also addresses specific fragments of the film with adequate technical information. Finally, the producers of the disc have also provided the original theatrical trailer.

Basic Instinct 2 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Producing a sequel, especially to a hugely popular and successful feature, is always a challenging task. One has to meet not only the high standards set by the original but also be as innovative as possible in order to please those viewers expecting more than a rehashed or slightly updated version of the same story. Unfortunately for the producers of Basic Instinct 2 there is hardly anything they have created that comes even remotely close to what made the original film by Paul Verhoeven a huge hit. Narrative, acting, and directing here are all third-grade material at best. Yes, fans of Sharon Stone might get a temporary fix seeing their icon in a few provocative scenes but the arousing talk, edgy flirts, and the dirty and o, so seductive moves we know she is capable of…well, they appear long, long gone.