Sharon Stone likes to get naked.

Yes, it may come as a surprise to few, but that was probably the only way to get people to the box office this weekend for the Hollywood's latest recycled project, Basic Instinct 2.

Stone returns to play her notable role of the femme fatale crime novelist Catherine Tramell 14 years after the original movie. This is her first notable leading role in a while. She made a great cameo appearance in the indie hit Broken Flowers but is Stone a one-trick pony?

For the sequel, Tramell has left San Francisco and traveled across the pond to wreak havoc on all the lads of London. Here she gets in hot water again when she is suspected of a mysterious murder of a premier soccer player she bedded. When assigned for a psych evaluation by the court (note their funny wigs), she meets prominent psychiatrist Dr. Michael Glass, played by British actor David Morrissey.

To quote Stephen Colbert on this one, "If you know who David Morrissey is, you're probably David Morrissey."

Sometimes being an unknown actor can be quite beneficial because audiences will identify with the character rather than all the movies the actor has done, but for Morrissey, it doesn't help much. Most of the actors in this film are rather unknown stateside, with the exception of famous British actor David Thewlis, from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, who plays the crooked cop Roy Washburn.

Taking over directing duties from the first film's Paul Verhoeven is Scottish director Michael Caton-Jones who has had some hits and misses throughout his career. He scored with This Boy's Life back in 1993, and his most recent hit, City by the Sea, was a rather forgettable film. The sequel's screenplay was penned by husband and wife team Henry Bean and Leora Barish, who wrote Desperately Seeking Susan, so I had feigned hope for this sequel.

Although sequels are made all the time, there really was no reasoning behind this one being made so late. Apparently, it took more than a decade for the scene in which she wore a short, white dress and nothing else from the first film to simmer down before releasing the sequel.

Just as the first film involves a string of murders, where life imitates art, the question of who-done-it gets really old. The audience watches as another poor schmuck gets his life destroyed as he falls deeper into Tramell's web of seduction. Instead of focusing on a cop, this one delves more into the psychological aspects of Stone's character. The shrink diagnoses her as "risk-addictive," a theme that the director pummels you over the head with. In fact, the original title of the sequel was Basic Instinct 2: Risk Addiction, but they wanted some people to go see it.

The character of Tramell certainly seems fun to play. She's a real maneater while oozing sexuality and danger at the same time. But in attempting to portray a sexually charged independent women, she comes off more like a ridiculous caricature. I don't want to perpetrate the stereotype that older women can't play sexy roles on screen, but I think the camera would've been much kinder to Stone if the sequel had been released when people still were talking about the first film. During her many sex scenes, she looks like one of the Joan Rivers clan: good from far away but a little stretched in her close-ups and topless scenes.

Although I haven't seen the first one in a long time, I'd have to say this one was developed to fit with millennial risqué standards. It is certainly an entertaining film, but not quite for the reasons its producers had in mind.

The plot is a roller coaster ride of lust, murder and deceit, but more in the way of making you nauseated afterward. The acting is for the most part, way over the top, and scenes intended to be suspenseful will make you laugh out loud. One could probably get a similar experience from this movie just by dialing a 900-number and eating popcorn. Grade: C-