"Basic Instinct 2" - John Murphy

Basic Instinct 2

Composer: John Murphy

Release date: April 18, 2006

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Amazon users rating: 3,5/5 stars.

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All About Soundtracks Review:
After 14 years of troubled production, Basic Instinct 2 was here. Directed by Michael Caton-Jones, this late sequel lost everything that made its predecessor a classic: a titillating direction by Paul Verhoeven, a much younger and sexier Sharon Stone as main star, and a superb score by Jerry Goldsmith.
(Read more.)
Instead, Basic Instinct 2 merely replays the formula of the first movie, with much lesser success: both to the critics and the box office. The setting is moved to London, the new male star has the same facial expressing for the whole movie, Sharon Stone’s face seems plastic, the movie is dialogue-ridden and even the sex scenes are boring. Adding to this disaster, we have John Murphy composing the score. British composer John Murphy is known for his scores for 28 Weeks Later and 28 Days Later.
There two types of tracks in Murphy’s score for Basic Instinct 2: a) tracks that unite small orchestra and electronics in a poor combination with no dramatic power and b) re-recordings of Jerry Goldsmith material from the first movie, which despite the better recording quality are wrongly used in the movie.
There are two exceptions on the album. The first one is probably the best track on this score: track 10, I Smell Blood, which features the main theme by Jerry Goldsmith adapted to a seductive string quartet. Then, track 15, Catherine at Police Station, which just adapts a Goldsmith theme to mumble with it for two minutes.
If you’re a fan of John Murphy’s electronic-based music, then you’ll be happy to know that he creates his own motifs. There’s an ascending-then-descending four-note motif played by a duduk, an Armenian woodwind instrument, which you can hear in Legs Wide Open on a Chair. Besides, the title theme he composed is an exotic and simplistic chord progression that you can in 120 MPH Sex. These stylistic aspects make this score feel like a Western. While these decisions could have seemed interesting, the result is boring, just like the sex scene track, Sex with Catherine, another simplistic and limp sample-based cue. There’s also a piano motif that you can hear in No Apologies.
If you’re a fan of Jerry Goldsmith, you’ll like the incorporation and adaption of his themes on album (while on film their use is laughable). You can hear them mainly in track 1, Michael Reads Her Book, track 10, I Smell Blood, track 21, Jacuzzi, track 25, Washburn Dies, and track 29, End Credits.
IF you’re not a fan of Murphy neither of Goldsmith, just avoid this album, where the dominating aspect is a terrible lack of identity and engagement, once Murphy never fuses his themes with Goldsmith’s and the music is overall unexpressive.

Ups: re-recording of Jerry Goldsmith superb themes for the original movie; original tracks by John Murphy that might please his fans.

Downs: uncoerent, boring score with lack of identity and engagement.

Noteworthy tracks: the ones that feature themes by Jerry Goldsmit; John Murphy's exotic main title theme.

Score note: 4

Preview:
Track 2 - 120 MPH Sex (Main Title - Basic Instinct 2)



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