Basic Instinct

Directed by Paul Verhoeven, Basic Instinct follows grizzled detective Nick Curran (Michael Douglas) as he becomes romantically involved with the primary suspect (Sharon Stone’s Catherine Tramell) of a brutal murder. Filmmaker Verhoeven, working from a script by Joe Eszterhas, certainly does an effective job of immediately luring the viewer into the proceedings, as Basic Instinct kicks off with an engrossing sex/murder sequence that segues into a promising opening stretch – with the watchable vibe certainly heightened by Douglas’ typically winning work as the often impressively unlikable protagonist. It’s only as the picture progresses into its investigation-heavy midsection that one’s interest begins to wane, as scripter Eszterhas emphasizes the minutiae of Nick’s probe into the crime to an often stifling degree (ie the movie, past a certain point, starts to feel like an R rated episode of Law and Order, complete with witnesses who keep doing their job while answering questions). The smattering of admittedly engrossing interludes (eg Nick’s partner walks into a fairly obvious trap) does buoy one’s diminished interest on an all-too-sporadic basis, and yet Basic Instinct isn’t, by the time its action-heavy finale rolls around, entirely able to justify its 2+ hour running time – which ultimately cements its place as a slick, stylish, and generally unsatisfying thriller from a distressingly erratic filmmaker.

** out of ****