Basic Instinct 2
Columbia Pictures | Release Date: March 31, 2006 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
26
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 33 Critic Reviews
Positive:
2
Mixed:
9
Negative:
22
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
38
Chicago TribuneMichael Phillips
Once the credits are done rolling it's a dour, enervated mystery, selling the old cat-and-mouse games. Read full review
38
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
Basic Instinct 2 is supposed to help Stone show it's possible for a woman to be sexy in her late 40s. But it's Rampling - who is 60 - who comes off as the more provocative and alluring. Stone's purring, snarling, bedroom kink is embarrassing. Read full review
38
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
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. Read full review
38
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
For all the sex and slicing, the most shocking thing about it is how dreary it is. Read full review
38
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
Basic Instinct 2 is double trouble -- the femme is to die for, the film is to die from. Read full review
30
Washington PostStephen Hunter
Where is the suspense part? There is no suspense part. Suspense demands clarity of motive and action, and this screenplay never provides it. Read full review
30
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
Basic Instinct 2 is pretty awful. Rarely has a meaningless thriller had so many meaningful glances, or such arch acting by good actors who know better.
30
Los Angeles TimesCarina Chocano
What we may very well be looking at here is another "Showgirls," a drag camp-fest for the "Baby Jane" crowd, fabulous fodder for future cabaret acts, and a pleasure probably best enjoyed in a crowd -- preferably a vocal one. Dead serious and stone idiotic, the only basic instinct in evidence here is desperation. Read full review
30
Village VoiceDennis Lim
Not content simply to examine the relationship between sex and death, BI2 ponderously blurs the boundaries between art and life, and the plot, already mired in nonsensical backstory, collapses with the late-inning introduction of a tired metafictional device (not to mention a wildly lunging "Usual Suspects" twist). Read full review
25
The A.V. ClubNathan Rabin
Fortunately, as a showcase for Sharon Stone's physique, Basic Instinct 2 is a rousing success. In every other respect, it's a colossal failure. Read full review
25
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
In a better movie, this grand-dame performance might have been fun, but it's surrounded here by an impossibly dull and unsatisfying whodunit plot, unintentionally funny dialogue and such absurdities as having Catherine stay up late one night and whip out an entire novel. Read full review
25
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
This film is unable to involve, entertain, or titillate. Basically, it stinks. Read full review
25
USA TodayClaudia Puig
The 1992 phenomenon was creepy, tense and sexually charged in a bold yet tawdry way. This sequel lacks even a shred of those elements. Read full review
25
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
Few expected Basic Instinct 2 to be very good, but no one expected it to be this boring. Read full review
25
San Francisco ChronicleRuthe Stein
The sequel is one big tease. Read full review
25
Boston GlobeTy Burr
The accidental comedy sensation of the year to date. Read full review
20
New York Magazine (Vulture)David Edelstein
Stupefyingly lackluster. Read full review
12
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
This script by the husband-and-wife team of Leora Barish and Henry Bean is hopelessly contrived and takes forever to get to the point. (I warn you: The film does not absolutely identify the killer.) Read full review
12
New York PostKyle Smith
At this point, there are inflatable toys that are livelier than Stone, but how can you tell the difference? Basic Instinct 2 is not an erotic thriller. It's taxidermy. Read full review
10
The New York TimesManohla Dargis
A disaster of the highest or perhaps lowest order. Read full review
0
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
Stone still dazzles the eye, but this wholly unwarranted sequel is so outrageously preposterous (and so very chockablock with quotable examples of the fine art of bad dialogue) that the end result achieves a basement grandeur of near-epic proportions. Read full review
0
Rolling StonePeter Travers
The laughs to be had in this deliciously awful sequel are all unintentional. A bummer for film buffs, but a ball for fans of the misbegotten. Read full review
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