Basic Instinct 2

Basic Instinct 2 (also known as Basic Instinct 2: Risk Addiction) is a 2006 erotic thriller film and the sequel to 1992's Basic Instinct. The film was directed by Michael Caton-Jones and produced by Mario Kassar, Joel B. Michaels and Andrew G. Vajna. The screenplay was by Leora Barish and Henry Bean. It stars Sharon Stone, who reprises her role of crime mystery author Catherine Tramell (from the original Basic Instinct), and David Morrissey. The film is an international co-production of Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States and Spain producers.

Basic Instinct 2
Theatrical release poster
Directed byMichael Caton-Jones
Produced by
Written by
Based onCharacters created
by Joe Eszterhas
Starring
Music by
CinematographyGyula Pados
Edited by
  • István Király
  • John Scott
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release date
  • 30 March 2006 (2006-03-30) (Germany)
  • 31 March 2006 (2006-03-31)
Running time
114 minutes[1]
Country
  • Germany
  • Spain
  • United Kingdom
  • United States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$70 million
Box office$38.6 million[2]

The film follows novelist and suspected serial killer Catherine Tramell, who is once again in trouble with the authorities, this time in Britain in London. Now Scotland Yard (Greater London's Metropolitan Police Service) appoints psychiatrist Dr. Michael Glass to evaluate her after. As with SFPD Detective Nick Curran in the first film, Dr. Glass becomes a victim of Tramell's seductive but psychological games.

After being in development limbo for several years, the sequel film was finally shot in London from April to August 2005, and was released on 31 March 2006. Following numerous cuts, it was released with an R rating for "strong sexuality, nudity, violence, language, and some drug content". Unlike its predecessor, the film received extremely negative reviews and fell short of commercial expectations.

Plot

Set in London, the film opens with American best-selling author Catherine Tramell in a speeding car with her companion, Kevin Franks, a famous English football star. Tramell takes the man's hand and begins masturbating herself with it, all the while increasing her vehicle's speed. Franks, who is semi-unconscious, does not seem to be aware of what is happening. At the point of orgasm, Tramell veers off the road and crashes into the West India Docks in Canary Wharf on the Thames River. She attempts to save her partner, but, as she says while being questioned later by the police, "When it came down to it, I guess my life was more important to me than his."

Tramell is interrogated by Scotland Yard Detective Superintendent Roy Washburn, who notes that D-Tubocurarine (DTC), which is a neuromuscular blocking agent used to relax muscles during general anaesthesia for medical surgery, was found in her car and in her companion's body, and the companion was not breathing at the time of the crash (according to the autopsy), and that a man named "Dicky Pep" said that he sold Tramell "15 milliliters of DTC last Thursday". Tramell counters by saying that this Dicky Pep must be lying because "you've got him on some other charge and he's trying to deal his way out, if he even exists".

Tramell begins therapy sessions with Dr. Michael Glass, who has conducted a court-ordered psychiatric exam and given testimony in her case. Dr. Glass strongly suspects that Tramell is a narcissist incapable of telling the difference between right and wrong. Tramell begins to play mind games with Glass, who becomes increasingly frustrated and intrigued by her. Meanwhile, the journalist boyfriend of Glass's ex-wife, who was in the process of writing a story critical of Glass, is found strangled to death. More murders begin to surface around Dr. Glass, including his own ex-wife, as his obsession with Tramell grows and when his career and life are threatened; he begins to suspect that Tramell is really committing the murders and attempting to frame him for them. Glass increasingly cannot distinguish himself between right and wrong, and the London police begin to suspect him. He confronts Tramell at her apartment where they engage in passionate sex. Tramell gives Glass a copy of the draft of her next novel, titled The Analyst. After reading it, he realises that Tramell has novelised most of the recent events with herself and Glass as characters. A character based on Glass's female colleague, Dr. Milena Gardosh, is depicted as the next murder victim in the novel.

Glass runs to Dr. Gardosh's apartment to warn her, finding Tramell already there. Gardosh informs him that he is no longer in charge of Tramell's therapy and that his license will be revoked. Glass and Gardosh struggle, and she is knocked unconscious. Tramell then threatens Glass with a gun she carries, but Glass takes it away from her. When Detective Superintendent Washburn arrives at the scene, Tramell manipulates Dr. Glass into shooting him.

In the final scene, Tramell pays a visit to Dr. Glass now at a local mental hospital where he has been institutionalised, and he learns from her that the novel has become a best-seller. Tramell claims that she manipulated Glass into committing all those murders, and flashbacks are shown of Glass committing the murders. Tramell leaves with a smirk on her face, while Glass continues to sit silently in his wheelchair.

Cast

Reception

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 6% based on 154 reviews and an average rating of 3.02/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Unable to match the suspense and titilation of its predecessor, Basic Instinct 2 boasts a plot so ludicrous and predictable it borders on so-bad-it's-good."[3] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 26 out of 100 based on 33 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[4] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C" on an A+ to F scale.[5]

BBC film critic Mark Kermode was one of the few critics to give it a positive review.[6] Roger Ebert gave the film 1.5 stars out of a possible 4, but nonetheless gave a qualified recommendation of the film despite its flaws.[7]

At the 27th Golden Raspberry Awards, the film (dubbed by the ceremony as "Basically, It Stinks, Too") won four Razzies for Worst Picture, Worst Actress (Sharon Stone), Worst Prequel or Sequel, and Worst Screenplay (Leora Barish and Henry Bean). It also earned nominations for Worst Director (Michael Caton-Jones), Worst Supporting Actor (David Thewlis), and Worst Screen Couple (Sharon Stone's lopsided breasts).[8] The film also received three nominations at the 2006 Stinkers Bad Movie Awards: Worst Picture, Worst Actress (Sharon Stone), and Worst Sequel.[9]

Michael Caton-Jones recalled later that making the movie was "a painful experience" and said "the reaction I couldn’t care less about. It was the experience of making it: it was horrible. And I knew before I started that it wasn’t going to be a particularly good film. Which is a very, very painful thing."[10] Interviewed by Empire Magazine, he said:"I remember coldly thinking "this is the worst filmmaking experience of my life" at the time, but my memory of it is the good thing. We tried to give it a look and I was very happy with it. I had a difficult time with Sharon [Stone], but I had a great time with all the other actors."[11]

David Morrissey said: "I thought it was a great script. I know it didn't turn out to be the greatest film in the world but I've never regretted any job I've gone into. You learn from all your work but the knocks that you take whether it be from journalist, reviews etc all serve to make you stronger."[12]

Box office

The film was a noteworthy failure at the box office. The film grossed only $3,201,420 (averaging just $2,203 per theater) in its first weekend of release in the United States.[13] This placed it a poor 10th in top gross, against such competition as Ice Age: The Meltdown (opening the same weekend), V for Vendetta and Inside Man. Low as the opening weekend was, the second week drop-off was just under 70% to just $1,017,607, averaging a mere $700 per theatre, nearly the worst of the year. (Only Harsh Times and Eragon dropped off more.) In the end, the film was in theatres for only 17 days before Sony decided to stop tracking its progress, and finished with a domestic gross of only $5,971,336.[2]

The film found more success outside the United States, earning $32,658,142, giving Basic Instinct 2 a worldwide theatrical gross of $38,629,478.[2]

Moviefone ranked the film as No. 16 on its Top 25 Box Office Bombs of All Time.[14]

Cancelled sequel

Plans for a third film have been scrapped due to the film's poor box office reception. However, in April 2006, Stone said she'd be interested in directing a potential third installment.[15]

References
  1. "BASIC INSTINCT 2 (18)". British Board of Film Classification. 17 March 2006. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
  2. "Basic Instinct 2 (2006)". boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved 23 April 2006.
  3. "Basic Instinct 2 (2006)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  4. "Basic Instinct 2 Reviews". Metacritic.
  5. "CinemaScore". cinemascore.com.
  6. Mark Kermode - Basic Instinct 2. 24 December 2009 – via YouTube.
  7. "It's a lot of things, but boring is not one of them. I cannot recommend the movie, but ... why the hell can't I? Just because it's godawful? What kind of reason is that for staying away from a movie? Godawful and boring, that would be a reason.""Basic Instinct 2 movie review (2006) | Roger Ebert (Archived copy)". Archived from the original on 10 May 2016. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  8. "Golden Raspberry Award Foundation". Archived from the original on 21 January 2013. Retrieved 25 April 2009.
  9. "Stinkers Bad Movie Awards - 2006 Ballot". The Stinkers. Archived from the original on 4 May 2007. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  10. https://www.scotsman.com/arts-and-culture/film-and-tv/interview-rob-roy-director-michael-caton-jones-new-film-urban-hymn-1465639
  11. https://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/michael-caton-jones-talks-urban-hymn-dicaprio-memphis-belle/
  12. https://www.theguardian.com/culture/live/2018/apr/17/david-morrissey-webchat-post-your-questions-now
  13. "Basic Instinct 2 (2006) – Weekend Box Office". boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved 5 April 2006.
  14. "Moviefone Top 25 Box Office Bombs of All Time". Moviefone.com. Archived from the original on 23 July 2008. Retrieved 5 September 2008.
  15. "Sharon Stone – Stone To Direct Basic Instinct 3".
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