Basic Instinct 2

Rating: **/*****, or 5/10

Totally unneccessary and undesirable sequel to the classic thriller from 1992, released much too late in the game (it only took 14 years) for anyone to still truly care. Nevertheless, not so bad as some people would have us believe, and with a good (mostly British) cast in any event. In London novelist Catherine Tramell (Sharon Stone once more) again gets suspected of homicide, after which she's evaluated by a successful psychiatrist (David Morissey) who falls under her sexy influence the same way the cop in the first film did (indicating how that plot ended and thus kinda spoiling its predecessor's open ending), after which he is drawn into London's erotic nightclub scene determining whether she's really an insane, sex hungry murderer, or whether he's slowly losing his own mind caught in her web of lies and sex. Despite good acting, very decent cinematography and editing and a fairly solid plot, this movie just lacks the punch of the previous movie: in fact, it would have been better if this was just a regular thriller with no actual story ties to Basic Instinct. Though Sharon Stone got a bit older, she still looks quite good naked, as she's demonstrating a bit more often than feels appropriately comfortable for the audience in this film's case.

Starring: Sharon Stone, David Morissey, David Thewlis

Directed by Michael Caton-Jones

USA/UK: MGM, 2006