Basic Instinct 2: Risk Addiction (2006) starring Sharon Stone, David Morrissey, David Thewlis, Neil Maskell, Charlotte Rampling, Terence Harvey, Hugh Dancy, Indira Varma, Stan Collymore directed by Michael Caton-Jones Movie Review

Basic Instinct 2: Risk Addiction (2006)   2/52/52/52/52/5


Sharon Stone as Catherine Tramell in Basic Instinct 2: Risk Addiction

Watch at your own Risk

Whilst "Basic Instinct" may have gained notoriety for the Sharon Stone leg crossing scene and frequent steamy sex scenes, it was in fact a semi decent thriller which did have you semi gripped with its intriguing storyline. Shame that the same can't be said about the sequel "Basic Instinct 2: Risk Addiction" as whilst Sharon Stone returns to reprise her role of Catherine Tramell and various elements to the storyline also return making it feel a bit of a rehash, it is certainly not the thrilling or provocative stuff you would hope for. In all honesty "Basic Instinct 2" is a yawn fest, an inferior thriller which makes little sense and is barely spiced up by some expected but less than steamy sex scenes.

Having moved to London, novelist Catherine Tramell (Sharon Stone - Catwoman) once again finds herself under the police spotlight when her football playing boyfriend drowns in a car accident which she miraculously escapes from. Detective Roy Washburn (David Thewlis) is convinced that she is guilty of murder and calls in psychoanalyst Michael Glass (David Morrissey - Captain Corelli's Mandolin) to examine Tramell who in turn becomes captivated by this seductive manipulative woman. When Tramell asks Glass to help her deal with her "risk addiction" he finds himself becoming wrapped up in her life and manipulative ways even when those around him end up being murdered in suspicious circumstances.

David Morrissey as Michael Glass in Basic Instinct 2: Risk Addiction

The trouble with "Basic Instinct 2" is that it's boring, not a nice thing to say but frankly it is. The storyline itself bares far too many similarities to the original with Tramell manipulating the psychoanalyst, Michael Glass, so that his life spirals out of control. That in it self wouldn't be so terrible but the actual storyline has nothing overly exciting about, no sense of urgency, adrenalin or thrill ironic seeing that "Risk Addiction" is tagged on to the title. In fact the storyline is so convoluted that making sense of it all is a waste of time, which may explain why the movie goes to great lengths to try and make sense of everything with the closing scenes, try being the operative word.

It doesn't help that "Basic Instinct 2" starts off being one thing which Tramell accused of murder then morphs into something different which focuses more on the character of Glass than that of Tramell. The change in focus fails to work and is part of the reason why it's so boring. What "Basic Instinct 2" needed to do was focus on the cat and mouse aspect of trying to nail Tramell for murder rather than the mysteries surrounding Glass and to some extent Detective Washburn.

As for the expected interjection of sex and nudity, well it has plenty but lacks that steamy erotic feeling which the first "Basic Instinct" managed to create. All the various sex scenes feel premeditated, manufactured even mechanical, thrown in not because they are part of the story but because it's what you expect, lacking that natural steaminess of the original movie. Yes a naked Sharon Stone still looks amazing but the sex scenes that she appears in as well as those featuring David Morrissey feel lifeless and bland, a case of lay back and think of Blighty.

It really doesn't help matters that this time round the movie is based in London. Now I love Britain and London is a great place to make a movie, but somehow it drags the movie down. The fact that the city looks dirty doesn't add the glamour the movie needs and fails to generate the atmosphere of mystery. Where as in the first movie the location helped to add pace and excitement, this time round it drags the movie down even giving it a feeling of a low budget independent movie shot on the quite in little known locations rather than the big movie production it should have been.

Adding to the problems is that the cast is predominantly British and they don't have that big movie star quality about them. David Morrissey is a fine actor but here he comes across as weak and lacking the star power to play opposite Sharon Stone. Between his performance and his character there is nothing which grabs you and encourages you to watch him even in his sex scenes which are to be frank quite terrible and unnatural. It doesn't help that there is a lack of chemistry between Morrissey and Stone, in their scenes together he spends the majority of them looking scared and as for their sex scene, well it's certainly not as steamy as when Sharon Stone bedded Michael Douglas. As for Sharon Stone well she starts out well and there is that air of mystery surrounding her character of Catherine Tramell, although her fashion and haircut is questionable. But the longer the movie goes on the more her performance capitulates, as if she gave up on trying to do anything more than the minimum required.

Morrissey and Stone are not helped by some terrible performances from the rest of the cast in particular David Thewlis whose performance as Detective Roy Washburn comes across as amateurish, more suited to an episode of Inspector Morse than a big screen movie.

What this all boils down to is that "Basic Instinct 2: Risk Addiction" is no where near as entertaining or gripping as the original and ends up being a very poor sequel. It fails in so many areas from the poor storyline, the terrible performances and the interjection of sex and nudity which is rudimentary and frankly boring. Whilst "Basic Instinct" gained notoriety for its sexual nature the only notoriety that "Basic Instinct 2: Risk Addiction" will gain is for being one of the worst sequels ever made.


LATEST REVIEWS