Basic Instinct (1992)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:41
Fresh:24
Rotten:17
Average Rating:6/10
Runtime: 2 hrs 30 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: This steamy thriller to end all steamy thrillers stars Michael Douglas as Nick, a boozy San Francisco police detective who finds himself drawn to the prime suspect in a murder case--manipulative,... [More]
Starring: Michael Douglas, Sharon Stone, George Dzundza, Jeanne Tripplehorn
Director: Paul Verhoeven
Reviews for Basic Instinct
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 2/5 |
Truly bonkers, and perhaps something of a guilty pleasure. Full Review |
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Douglas and Stone are superb, and George Dzundza (as sidekick Gus) delivers another classic hard-boiled cameo. Full Review |
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4/4 |
Could we be ready to stop snickering about it and admit to its status as a modern classic? Full Review |
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2/4 |
Click to read the article Full Review |
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Despite (or maybe because of) his obligatory nods to Hitchcock, this is slick and entertaining enough to work as thriller porn, even with two contradictory denouements to its mystery. Full Review |
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2.5/4 |
The worst things about Basic Instinct, though, are the explicit "love" scenes. They're supposed to contribute to a heady equation in which sex, violence and psychology are fused; instead, they're gratuitous, exploitative, and entirely unerotic. Full Review |
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This erotically charged thriller about the search for an ice-pick murderer in San Francisco rivets attention through its sleek style, attractive cast doing and thinking kinky things, and story, which is as weirdly implausible as it is intensely visceral. Full Review |
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3.5/4 |
It actually works in a nasty, tasteless sort of way. Full Review |
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7/10 |
A lurid psychological thriller that's sexy, nasty and a lot of fun...And you were expecting subtlety from a film written by Joe Eszterhas and directed by Paul Verhoeven?
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2.5/5 |
Can any movie live up to its hype, first about the bidding war over the script ($3 million), then protests by gay activists about the stereotypical portrayal. Despite sleek visuals, this is a hollow erotic suspenser; Hitchcock on a very bad day. Full Review |
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2/5 |
No review available.
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4/5 |
Another over the top classic from Paul Verhoeven.
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0/5 |
No review available.
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The cinema of the teenage boy finds its purest expression.
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3/5 |
No review available.
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3/5 |
No review available.
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4/5 |
No review available.
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3/4 |
Shocking and effective but doesn't quite live up to all the hype. Full Review |
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3/5 |
No review available.
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4/5 |
Very effective thriller. More scary than sexy.
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CommentLatest News for Basic Instinct
November 12, 2007:
Paul Verhoeven Directing Thomas Crown Affair Sequel?
Two years after first being announced, the sequel to 1999's Pierce Brosnan-led remake of The Thomas Crown Affair is still in development -- but if you've been impatient to see... More...
April 30, 2007:
Directed By...Sir Paul Verhoeven?
Paul Verhoeven, the Dutch director who brought us such films as "Basic Instinct," "Starship Troopers," and "Showgirls," has reportedly been... More...
March 30, 2006:
Critical Consensus: "Slither" Is Certified Fresh, "Ice Age 2" Is Lukewarm, "ATL" Is Hot, And "Basic 2" Is Very, Very Bad
This week at the movies, we've got a pair of sequels that will appeal to widely disparate demographics ("Ice Age 2: The Meltdown," "Basic Instinct 2"), a... More...
February 15, 2006:
Trailer Bulletin: Basic Instinct 2
We've been hearing about the possibility of a "Basic Instinct" sequel for several years now, and the thing's finally finished with and ready for release. It stars an... More...
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