Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		2.0

Basic Instinct 2 Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman December 17, 2018

Director Michael Caton-Jones makes it clear in the commentary tracks accompanying both the theatrical and unrated cuts of Basic Instinct 2 on this new Blu-ray release that neither he nor anyone associated with this long gestating sequel to Basic Instinct had any illusions that they were creating “Art”, and instead were more interested in fashioning an “entertainment”. Just how “entertaining” Basic Instinct 2 actually is will of course be based largely on personal taste, but I personally frankly don’t quite understand the umbrage the film has generated over the years. Is it silly? Undoubtedly. Far fetched? Yep. Largely predictable? Of course. And yet — it’s rather brisk, has a number of nice little moments, and has a decently ambiguous ending that seems to cast everything that has gone before in a somewhat different light. But even with these “pluses”, it’s probably undeniable that the biggest “minus” about Basic Instinct 2 is, well, that it isn’t Basic Instinct. That film hit with such a “cultural zeitgeist” bang, not to mention the “shock and awe” a certain notorious shot in the film engendered, that any sequel probably would have been found wanting. Add to that the longer than usual lapse between the first and second films (some fourteen years), and it’s probable that whatever “magic” Basic Instinct revealed had simply dissipated in the interim.

The pulpier, some may even say trashier, aspects of Basic Instinct 2 are probably evident right from the get go during a rather raucous credits sequence that finds Catherine Trammell (Sharon Stone) speeding through the urban environment of London with a heavily drugged boyfriend next to her. Catherine takes matters into her own hands, or perhaps more accurately the hands of her boyfriend, using his digits to stimulate herself as she drives, which perhaps predictably leads to a horrifying collision. In one of the kind of interesting “cheats” this film occasionally offers, the two end up underwater, but Catherine actually tries to help the guy before escaping from the sinking car herself. Has Catherine reformed? Well. . .

Her carmate victim turns out to be a famous British footballer, and so there’s a good deal of police interest in the case (kind of remarkably, her “previous adventures” don’t really enter into the discussion). A detective named Roy Washburn (David Thewlis) is particularly interested, but Catherine’s most challenging confrontation is with police psychiatrist Michael Glass (David Morrissey), who is appointed to examine her as she is considered for possible prosecution. Of course a rather dangerous cat and mouse game is evident from their first smoldering glances at each other, and as things unfold, Glass predictably finds his life rent completely asunder by a series of horrifying deaths which he is of course certain Trammell is committing in order to frame him.

There is of course a lot of psychosexual subtext (and even text) in this outing, but it’s also easy to see why so many people consider this film on the campy side. Glass’ unfortunate transformation into what might be termed a B-movie Christian Grey is kind of unintentionally funny, though in other ways the film certainly knows it’s winking at the audience, as Caton-Jones makes abundantly clear in his commentaries.

Basic Instinct 2 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Basic Instinct 2 is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of MVD Visual's MVD Marquee Collection imprint with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.40:1. I'm not quite sure of why this MGM film was released on Blu-ray by Sony years ago, but Svet's review of that release did not find much to champion in its technical merits. MGM hasn't been the most reliable curator of its catalog and high definition presentations, but within the context of that studio's sometimes spotty history, I found Basic Instinct 2 to be generally pleasing, if not optimal. There's still a rather soft aspect to much of this presentation, though the more brightly lit moments do pop with considerable authenticity, and offer rather good fine detail levels. Certain "artier" sequences like the aggressive sex scene between Glass and a "random" conquest, a scene which is drenched in yellow (and which is a bit longer and more graphic in the unrated version), see noticeable drops in fine detail levels. The many slate gray to cool blue graded or lit scenes don't falter quite as much in fine detail levels, but arguably see a slight drop when compared to the more robustly lit or outdoor moments. The hazy overlay that afflicted the Sony release is gone, and grain looks better resolved, even if I suspect some high frequency filtering may have been applied. I also noticed no compression issues.

While I noticed no appreciable difference between the two versions (which are really not all that different in any case), I supplied screenshots from both versions here. Screenshots 1 - 10 are from the theatrical version, and screenshots 11 - 19 are from the unrated version.

Basic Instinct 2 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Both versions of the film included on the disc feature English tracks in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and LPCM 2.0, along with a French Dolby Digital 5.1 track. I didn't experience any mixing issues like the ones Svet detailed in his review of the Sony release, though that said, aside from brief moments like the opening "car sex" scene, there aren't a ton of showy sonics to exploit in the film. The surround track sporadically opens things up, including in that aforementioned opening sequence, but also in scenes like the court hearing with Glass. Fidelity is fine on both tracks, with no age related wear and tear that I noticed.

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

• Theatrical (1080p; 1:54:01) and Unrated (1080p; 1:56:07) Versions of the film


• Commentary by Director Michael Caton-Jones is available on both versions of the film.


• Between the Sheets: A Look Inside Basic Instinct 2 (480i; 11:08) looks like an archival EPK done around the time of the film's production.


• Deleted Scenes all feature optional director commentary:

  Catherine Reminisces (480i; 3:06)

  Michael Arrives at Clinic (480i; 00:35)

  Michael Meets Milena (480i; 00;55)

  Waiting for Dr. Glass (480i; 1:07)

  Michael Watches Catherine (480i; 1:10)

  Michael Discusses with Milena (480i; 00:44)

  Catherine Arrives Drenched (480i; 4:57)

  Catherine Entices Milena (480i; 2:07)

  Lt. Phil Walker (480i; 1:32)

  Alternate Ending (480i; 1:01)

• Trailers Includes Basic Instinct 2 (1080i; 2:19) along with trailers for several other MVD releases.

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

As Michael Caton-Jones mentions in his commentaries as well as on the archival EPK included on this Blu-ray, he actually got the first script for Basic Instinct 2 without a title page, and so was initially unaware the film was a sequel to one of the better remembered thrillers of its day. And in fact it might have been better all around had Basic Instinct 2 been shorn of any connection to the Paul Verhoeven film. It was a staple of the studio system that iconic stars played the same "types" over and over again in various films, often with very little if any difference other than character names, and one could easily see Sharon Stone essaying a character rather similar (okay, pretty much identical) to Catherine Trammell with a different name, something that of course might have still invited comparisons to Basic Instinct but might have potentially removed this film from the previous outing's orbit enough so that its own perhaps admitted smaller scale pleasures could be enjoyed for what they were. While my 2.0 score hopefully demonstrates that I'm not immune to the shortcomings of this film, I'm perhaps just as obviously not the Basic Instinct 2 "hater" that a lot of people seem to be. One way or the other, this MVD Marquee release certainly improves on the lackluster technical merits of the old release, while also offering a decent supply of supplements, for those interested in making a purchase.