Review: T2 Trainspotting

Danny Boyle's Trainspotting is a seminal film that marks itself by having a strong creed on life. The opening narration of the film tells us to choose life as Iggy Pop's Lust for Life pumps on the soundtrack. It is a great cinematic moment.

Boyle's 20 year later sequel lives under the memory of such a moment. Nostalgia drives this film's pulse rather than heroin. Coming back to the characters of Mark Renton (Ewan McGregor), Spud (Ewen Bremner) and Sick Boy (Johnny Lee Miller) never feels like it has a real point other than that nostalgia is in style right now. Flashes of the same cinematic force of the original film shine through at times but T2 Trainspotting is often a missed opportunity or at least an aimless one. Trainspotting is to heroin and T2 Trainspotting is to methadone. It reminds you of the original but is not nearly as good or powerful.

Boyle and the returning cast are all game for revisiting the scummy locales of Edinburgh. When the film is at its most episodic, it works as we see these stifled characters go on adventures that try to capture the energy of youth. Boyle's clever skills at striking visuals come alive here but sadly there isn't much the film is saying about the way life works.

Mark comes back to Scotland from being in hiding. He soon connects with Spud, who is still trying to kick heroin, and Sick Boy, who is a cocaine-fueled asshole. They soon get on board Sick Boy's plan to open up a massage parlor and brothel. This leads to some fun detours but the whole subplot feels undercooked.

Enter in Begbie (Robert Carlyle) about halfway through and the film morphs into a chase film of sorts. Begbie hold a grudge from the events of the original film against Mark and wants him dead. Sick Boy helps him as a way to also get back at Mark. All the double-crossing and distrust would make for a fine thriller but feels out of place in the world of Irvine Welsh. 

The films best themes and moments are centered in the way middle age can make you nostalgic. The film feels like a scummy cousin to Edgar Wright's The World's End in this way. That film, however, had a point to make by the end of it. T2 Trainspotting falters in the third act and doesn't leave much of an impact.

There is one truly great moment in the film. Mark and Sick Boy devise a clever scam to steal ATM cards from a group of radical Protestants at a local bar. The scene sings of all the things that made the detours in Trainspotting so great. The first film however, remains a strong depiction of the dangers of addiction. T2 has very little to say when it gets back to the main story.

2.5/5