Basic Instinct 2: Risk Addiction (Blu-ray)
R-Rated Version
APPROX. 114 MINS. - PROD. YEAR: 2006 - MPA RATING: R
" This is a stylish-looking film with not nearly enough substance, and even less if you remember the plot of the first Basic Instinct.
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Video: The colors, as with the other Blu-ray discs I've reviewed, are more natural compared to SD-DVDs, with no great intensity. That's fine,
but more than the other Sony Blu-ray discs I've reviewed thus far, "Basic Instinct 2" was a disappointment. Some of the scenes, like the opening, are so sharp you'd swear you could reach into your set and touch Stone or that gear shift. But others are grainy and don't seem to have nearly the same level of detail. Admittedly, more than a few of these scenes had soft-focus backgrounds, but even the figures in the foreground didn't have the leap-out-at-you clarity that you'd hope for. Then too, there are annoying occasional stoppages, the kind you experience on a dual-layered disc when the player shifts from one layer to the next. It's sharper than an SD, but not as sharp as you'd hope for a the next generation of discs.
Audio: Once again, I flipped back and forth between my optical connection and my 6-channel connection, and this time the 6-channel came out on top. Sound hasn't been a real problem with these early Blu-ray discs. It's been fairly solid and robust, with good distribution across the speakers that matches up with what we see on the screen.
Extras: The Blu-ray version has the same featurette ("Between the Sheets: A Look Inside 'Basic Instinct 2'") and the same commentary by director Michael Caton-Jones as the other releases, but it lacks 10 deleted scenes and an alternate ending that are included on the SD-DVD and Unrated editions. The commentary is quite literate, which is almost surprising considering that Caton-Jones doesn't exactly have a track record for producing great films. "This Boy's Life" came closest, and it still receive mixed reviews. But to hear him talk about this project is interesting and it almost makes you wish the film were better. "The whole film is about the establishment of power—who's on top," Caton-Jones says. It was crucial to get a male lead who wouldn't be intimidated by Sharon Stone the movie star, he says, and so he took his leading contender, Morrissey, to California to read with Stone to "see if he would choke." He didn't, obviously, and Stone felt an instant bond. Good thing, because they "bond" plenty during the film.
The commentary is quite good, but fans of Sharon Stone and "Basic Instinct" will appreciate the short extra even more. Stone and other principals appear on-camera talking about "Basic Instinct 2," and it's a solid if unspectacular bonus feature.
Bottom Line: This is a stylish-looking film with not nearly enough substance, and even less if you remember the plot of the first "Basic Instinct." Stone's stone-faced performance is augmented by a cast of warmer characters, and over the course of the film those warm bodies are more welcome than skin that Stone displays. But even that's not enough to reheat an old premise to where it can sizzle again.
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