The film follows novelist and suspected serial killer Catherine Tramell, who is once again in trouble with the authorities, this time in London. Now Scotland Yard (Greater London's Metropolitan Police Service) appoints psychiatrist Dr. Michael Glass to evaluate her. As with SFPD Detective Nick Curran in the first film, Dr. Glass becomes a victim of Tramell's psychological manipulation.
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. Unlike its predecessor, the film received negative reviews and underperformed at the box office.
Plot
In London, American best-selling author Catherine Tramell is driving with her companion, famous English football star Kevin Franks. Tramell takes Franks's hand and begins masturbating herself with it as she accelerates the car, but the semi-unconscious Franks appears unaware of what is happening. At the point of orgasm, Tramell veers off the road and crashes into the West India Docks on the Thames. She attempts to save Franks but is unable to undo the seatbelt. When questioned later by the police, she says, "When it came down to it, I guess my life was more important to me than his."
Tramell's interrogator, Scotland Yard Detective Superintendent Roy Washburn, notes that D-tubocurarine (DTC), a neuromuscular blocking agent used to relax muscles during general anaesthesia for medical surgery, was found in her car and in Franks' body and the autopsy shows he was not breathing when the crash occurred. Washburn says that a drug dealer claims he sold Tramell DTC, but Tramell counters that he is lying and has no evidence.
Tramell begins therapy sessions with Dr. Michael Glass, who has conducted a court-ordered psychiatric examination and given testimony in her case. Dr. Glass suspects Tramell is a narcissist who cannot differentiate between right and wrong. Tramell begins to manipulate Glass, who becomes increasingly frustrated and intrigued by her, although he has just begun an affair with another psychiatrist. Meanwhile, the journalist boyfriend of Glass's ex-wife, who was writing a story criticizing Glass, is found strangled to death. More murders occur around Dr. Glass, including the killing of his ex-wife. His obsession with Tramell grows, and he is increasingly unable to distinguish between right and wrong. When the police begin to suspect him of the murders, he suggests to Superintendent Washburn that Tramell is the real killer attempting to frame him. He confronts Tramell at her apartment, where they have passionate sex. Tramell gives Glass a copy of the draft of her next novel, titled The Analyst. After reading it, he realizes that Tramell has novelised most of the recent events, with Glass and herself 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, 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. He and Gardosh struggle, and she is knocked unconscious. Tramell then threatens Glass with a gun she carries, but Glass confiscates it from her. When Detective Superintendent Washburn arrives at the scene, Glass shoots him and points the gun at Tramell before police tackle him.
Later, Tramell visits Glass, now apparently insensible and institutionalised at a mental hospital. She tells him that her novel has become a best seller. Tramell suggests that Glass used her proximity to him as an excuse to murder his enemies, intending to frame her; flashbacks show Glass committing the murders. She says she suspects he is faking insanity, and gives him a copy of the book with the inscription "I couldn't have done it without you." Tramell kisses him and leaves, and Glass begins to smile.
MGM had planned to produce the sequel for release in 2002, but announced in 2001 that they would no longer be making the film. On the same day of the announcement, Sharon Stone filed a lawsuit against the movie's producers Andrew G. Vajna and Mario Kassar, claiming she was guaranteed "at least $14 million for her commitment to the sequel, even if the movie never got made" and "as much as 15 percent of gross receipts if the film were released."[4]Die Hard director John McTiernan had been attached to direct the film. He said that he wanted Benjamin Bratt to play the male lead, but that Sharon Shone did not approve. He wanted to rewrite the character as a Latin-American psychiatrist working in an emergency room, who is "seduced not by just the woman but by wealth and luxury he'd never before been exposed to."[5]Robert Downey Jr. was offered the role of Dr. Michael Glass but he declined.[6]Aaron Eckhart had also been in consideration to co-star with Stone. Other directors considered included David Cronenberg and Lee Tamahori. In 2004, the producers settled the lawsuit with Stone by agreeing to make the movie.[7]
Production
Michael Caton-Jones signed on to direct the film, later stating, "I was completely broke and had to take anything that came in. Basic Instinct 2 was this poisoned chalice that had been passed around and eventually it arrived at my door."[8] David Morrissey was cast in the co-starring role as the psychiatrist who analyzes Catherine Tramell. He said he "loved the script" and "immediately hit it off" with Sharon Stone "and it remained that way through the filming."[9] The film was threatened with an NC-17 rating by the MPAA and went through cuts to achieve an R rating.[7]
Reception
Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 6% of 154 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 3.3/10. The website's 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."[10]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 26 out of 100, based on 33 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews.[11]
BBC film critic Mark Kermode was one of the few critics to give it a positive review.[12]Roger Ebert gave the film 1.5 stars out of a possible 4, calling it "godawful," but not boring. He said, "The Catherine Tramell role cannot be played well, but Sharon Stone can play it badly better than any other actress alive."[13]
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."[8] 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."[16]
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."[17]
Box office
The film was a noteworthy domestic failure at the box office; it grossed only $3.2million in its first weekend of release in the United States and Canada, falling by nearly 70% (to just $700 per theatre) in its second weekend.[18] 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 $6.0million.[18] The film earned $32.7million in international markets, for a worldwide theatrical gross of $38.6million,[18] against a budget of $70million.[19]
In 2007, Moviefone ranked the film as number 16 on its Top 25 Box Office Bombs of All Time.[19]
Plans for a third film were scrapped due to the film's poor box-office reception, but in April 2006, Stone said she would be interested in directing a potential third installment.[24]
Steve Baker, Ricky Blitt, Will Carlough, Tobias Carlson, Jacob Fleisher, Patrik Forsberg, Will Graham, James Gunn, Claes Kjellstrom, Jack Kukoda, Bob Odenkirk, Bill O'Malley, Matthew Alec Portenoy, Greg Pritikin, Rocky Russo, Olle Sarri, Elizabeth Wright Shapiro, Jeremy Sosenko, Jonathan van Tulleken, and Jonas Wittenmark – Movie 43 (2013)
