On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 6% based on 154 reviews and an average rating of 3.02/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Unable to match the suspense and titilation of its predecessor, "Basic Instinct 2" boasts a plot so ludicrous and predictable it borders on so-bad-it's-good." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 26 out of 100 based on 33 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C" on an A+ to F scale.