Transcript note: This transcript is based on the original working script. It may contain production notes, draft wording, spelling mistakes or other material that differs from the finished video - these scripts were meant to be spoken, not read.

There are certain kinds of characters, or - archetypes I should say, in films that just, work.

Not because they are complicated or loud, but because they understand exactly who they are.

The femme fatale is one of them.

Confident, controlled - Sexy - And always, always - One step ahead.

They aren’t part of anyone’s story, they are the story.

Basic Instinct knew exactly what to do with a femme fatale.

Catherine Tramell didn’t need any action scenes, or big moments.

She just needed a room to walk into.

And what happened when she walked into a room 14 years after we first met her?

Let’s take a look and see what makes Basic Instinct 2 - A Franchise, Flogged.

[intro]

It’s a strange sequel, this one.

And if you’ve seen this series before you know I dig through the straight-to-video bins.

But this one... this one went to cinemas. And that somehow makes it stranger

It should, in theory - have worked - Or worked better than it did at least.

It didn’t try and reinvent its wheel - Catherine Tramell is back, almost exactly as you remember her.

The confidence, and the control is still there - In spades.

But yet - Something isn’t quite right - And, it’s not the accents.

Catherine's now living in the UK, London to be precise.

The film starts with her driving a stupidly fast car straight into the river Thames while, distracting, her passenger - Who just happens to be a famous footballer.

Suspicions are, aroused, and Dr. Michael Glass is brought in to see if he can work out if she’s a cold blooded killer, or… Just a little bit unstable.

Catherine being Catherine, uses her time with the good Doctor to do what she does best.

People around the Doctor suddenly start dying - All while Catherine just happens to be hanging around - It’s suspicious, naturally, but there’s never any proof.

The Doctor slowly loses his grip on it all and, thanks to Catherine and her wily old ways, by the end of the film he doesn’t know what’s going on - Literally.

Now - On paper, that works - Right?

The trouble is - It’s like the film is stuck in its own past.

The original Basic Instinct came out at a point in time where this kind of character felt dangerous and unpredictable.

There was something in the air - That anything could happen - Not because of any action, but because of people.

But - Just over a decade has passed since then, and things have changed.

By the time part 2 of Catherine's story is told to us, any edge it, or she, once had has been softened.

So when we see Catherine return, her archetype has been reshaped and diluted down to almost nothing.

She’s not so shocking anymore, but familiar.

The femme fatale character has been around for years - And I won’t lie - I enjoy these kinds of stories - they remind me of pulp noir detective stuff, they kind of go hand in hand.

I grew up on films like Double Indemnity with Barbara Stanwyck and Body Heat with Kathleen Turner - I probably watched them before I should.

And then as I got older I had the likes of Virginia Madsen in The Hot Spot, and yeah - Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct alongside Linda Fiorentino in The Last Seduction

And, later on in life I got the likes of Rosamund Pike in Gone Girl, and then - even more stylised takes like Eva Green in Sin City

The same archetype, just pushed even further.

The problem is? - Well, Catherine - She didn’t move at all.

She just stayed exactly where she was.

And that’s where Basic Instinct 2 struggles the most.

The scenes are all built around her - The idea that she’s unsettling, manipulative and hard to read.

But the reaction isn’t the same.

Not from the characters she’s interacting with, and not from the audiences either.

The femme fatale should always feel like she’s operating above everyone else, she controls the room, the mood, the… everything.

But here? Catherine is just moving through the story instead of driving it.

The dynamic changed, the tension disappeared and what you’re left with is…

This.

Sharon Stone isn’t the issue here, far from it - She’s as consistent as she’s ever been.

She understands the character - She’s playing it exactly as she did before; controlled, deliberate and slightly detached.

But - That in itself then becomes the problem.

Because everyone and everything around her feels like they should be in an entirely different film.

It’s a bit weird - We seem to have all the puzzle pieces laid out in front of us - Just nothing to bring them all together.

It never looks like it’s a finished idea - Along the right lines, definitely - Just - A half formed thought.

It’s not misunderstood the character, it’s actually done an excellent job of bringing her back

But what it has also done is, forget the world around her.

When the sequel released, the world was a very different place to when the first film came out.

Time’s moved on - Basic Instinct - Catherine Trammel - Once loved, and feared has almost become a parody of itself.

Scary Movie, The Simpsons and even the Detective Pikachu film - And many more - Have all taken pot shots at Catherine's legacy in one form or another.

The genre’s place in the world had changed as well.

Back in 1992, an erotic thriller was an event.

Seeing A-list actors push the boundaries of what was allowed on screen was taboo.

It was gossip, salacious even.

You had to buy a ticket just to see what everyone was whispering about.

But by 2006? The internet was everywhere. High-speed broadband was in people's homes.

Things once seen as erotic, steamy, and maybe a little bit dangerous...

Well, they were suddenly just a click away.

The idea of going to the cinema for that kind of thrill felt a little redundant.

The 'shock value' currency that the original film traded in had completely crashed.

And all of that, matters

The box office numbers would reflect that - It didn’t even make $10 million back domestically.

If Hollywood wanted to bring Catherine back, then they needed to give her a new world - One where she could thrive.

And, just like the direct to DVD sequels I normally look at

it does feel like the kind of sequel that exists because the name still had value.

But instead of evolving it… instead of updating it…

they just brought it back as it was.

And that’s the real problem

Literally everything else had already moved on.

But they didn’t.

And instead we’ve got something that is technically correct, but oddly flat.

Sure, we got Catherine Tramell back - But.

Now she isn’t shocking.

She isn’t dangerous.

She isn’t provocative.

She’s just… familiar.

And for a character like Catherine…

Well… That’s about as bad as it gets.

Anyways.

I’ve been Paul and Basic Instinct 2 was a Franchise, Flogged.

If you’ve liked this video then do me a favour and drop me a like.

Subscribe as well if you want while you’re there.

Or, don't - I’m not going anywhere.

Hopefully - I shall catch you on the next Rewind.

Thanks for watching.