First… Can we take a moment to appreciate how incredibly sexy Sharon Stone was back in the early and mid-nineties?!!!? I mean, the way she moves, the way she talks, and of course, the way she looks… Just incredible!! Now... Basic Instinct. I had forgotten how good the tension building is in this movie. It borders on perfect. The music, the acting, the cinematography… Everything works together to create tension that just builds and builds throughout the movie until it…pops(?!?). Verhoeven is the absolute master of the “horny” filmmaking, and in Basic Instinct everything is horny. Even the freaking cars oozes sex. In most movies it gets tiresome after a while, but in this one it works very well. However, the best aspect of Basic Instinct is the fact that it shows how dumb we men can be when we get strung along by our d... well...you know what I mean. The way Douglas THINKS he's playing a game, when he's in fact doing everything his “adversary” has planned all along, is very well done by both Verhoeven and the writer, Joe Eszterhas. There are so many incredible scenes in Basic Instinct, but the opening, the club, and, of course, the interrogation are the ones that really stand out. Especially now when you can get the movie in 4K. This is actually the first time I have seen this movie in over 20 years, and it was all brought on because I got my hands on the 4k release by StudioCanal. Great release with tons of extras. Well worth the price. ...and yes...in case you didn't suspect it by now. I really like Basic Instinct!!

Take out all the nudity and I goddamn guarantee the ratings for this pile of long-winded crap would drop considerably. If you want to see people having sex with a terrible plot line (or no plot at all), just watch actual porn instead. They were all quite unlikable characters. [spoiler]Hell, the guy you’re supposed to be rooting for is a rapist and that’s shown as if it’s no biggie.[/spoiler] I’d say its overall high ratings and popularity despite its lack of a good story is definitely at least in part due to being, “a product of its time,” because it was essentially a way to watch a soft-core porn without going to the curtained section of the video store. Basically, nobody heard about this and then rented it from their local Blockbuster based on their interest in the plot alone. I gave the movie, _Magic Mike_, a rating of a 1, for reference. Sure, the gyrating male form was fun to see at times, but it was overall a big bore. That to say, my criticism here isn't just about an insecure woman losing her mind over men enjoying female titillation. I admittedly am an insecure woman, but I can and do very much enjoy erotic thrillers from time to time. This just ain't it. They worked so hard on the "thrills" that they forgot to put in the "thrill" past all the skin screen time. I strongly feel that if all those scenes were implied rather than so explicitly shown, the majority would likely recognize this for the absurd bore of a film that it really is. Perhaps some of the hype is merely nostalgia as well? I didn’t watch this back in the day at the height of its popularity, as I’ve read so many who gush about it did. I’m so very grateful to have found so many other comments/reviews (mostly on IMDb, not here) that reflect my own feelings. It's nice not to feel alone!

Pretty good rewatch after 29 years. AIDS was then killing everybody and we don’t have any vaccine till today.

I watched this again the other night for the first time in about 15 years. It still holds up pretty well.

Basic Instinct is pure 90s adult thriller. It is slick, sweaty, and unapologetically perverse. The entire film belongs to Sharon Stone, who takes full command of every scene she's in. She is playful, predatory, and effortlessly sensual. Catherine Tramell may be the only female psychopath in cinema more twisted than Amy Dunne. The movie is occasionally messy and a little absurd, but it has enough drive and menace to keep you locked in.