Basic Instinct 2 DVD Review (Sharon Stone) Empire Movies

BASIC INSTINCT 2 DVD REVIEW

Basic Instinct 2 (Unrated Extended Cut)
(Sony Pictures)

The Movie

The Extras

Reviewed by

1/10

2.5/10

Liam

I don't like Sharon Stone. I never have liked her and I don't imagine that I ever will. Even in her prime (ie. the original Basic Instinct) I never "got" her or the public's fascination with her. Still, if there's one thing I do enjoy, it's watching her fail. So when the opportunity came to watch her fall on her face in Basic Instinct 2, I couldn't really pass it up.

In Basic Instinct 2, Stone returns as Catherine Tramell, the role that made her "famous" back in 1992. This time around, she's in London, England where she's under investigation for killing her boyfriend. During the course of the investigation, she is interviewed by criminal psychologist Dr. Michael Glass (David Morrissey) who conveniently just happens to become infatuated with her. Or at least with her "condition" which he refers to as a "risk addiction". She intentionally gets herself into sticky situations just for the thrill of the risk. Of course, this guy is stupid enough to get involved with her and the cat-and-mouse games begin. My question is, who's the cat? After all, Dr. Glass is quite a pussy. A couple of hours (and more than a few uncomfortable scenes) later the movie ends and we are left thankful for a couple of things. First, that the movie is finally over. Second, that we can finally put Sharon Stone's career behind us and move on.

I suppose the easy thing here to do is to slam Sharon Stone. But let's take a look at everything else that's wrong with this movie. First, why it got made in the first place. C'mon. This movie should've been made 10 years ago. Yes, it would've been just as bad an idea then, but this character is long forgotten. Why dig her up now? Simply because the movie was in development forever? Whatever. There were lawsuits all over the place over this movie getting made. Isn't that the first sign that maybe it's best to just leave it alone? And the writing. At least the first movie had a semblance of a plot. This movie is just a waste. My neck hurt when the movie was over because I shook my head in disbelief so many times. And the nudity. Yeah, I'm all for nudity and I realize it's a big selling point, but gimme a break. A naked Sharon Stone is the last thing the world needs right now.

Special features on this DVD include an audio commentary with director Michael Caton-Jones, some deleted scenes and an alternate ending (both available with optional commentary), and a 10-minute behind-the-scenes featurette titled "Between the Sheets: A Look Inside Basic Instinct 2". The funniest bit here is where we are told that the story is so strong it could've been made separately from being a sequel to Basic Instinct. Yeah, right. There are also previews for a handful of movies, most of which are more entertaining than everything else on this DVD - including the actual movie.

Like I said, it's pretty easy to poke fun at this movie. Maybe if the movie had poked more fun at itself, it might've been a bit better. Perhaps the fact that it took itself so seriously made it so seriously funny.

Features
"Between the Sheets" Featurette
A Look Inside Basic Instinct 2
Commentary with Director Michael Caton-Jones
10 Deleted Scenes with Optional Director Commentary
Alternate Ending

Video
Widescreen (2.40:1)

Audio
English 5.1 (Dobly Digital)
French 5.1 (Dobly Digital)

Subtitles
English
French
Closed-Captioned

Release Date
July 11, 2006

Rating
Unrated

Length
116 mins.

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