'T2: TRAINSPOTTING' - REVIEW

Release Date: Friday the 27th of January (UK Release)

Directed By: Danny Boyle

Written By: John Hodge and Irvine Welsh (Original Material)

Produced By: Bernard Bellew, Danny Boyle, Christian Colson and Andrew Macdonald

Starring: Ewan McGregor, Robert Carlyle, Johnny Lee Miller and Ewen Bremner.

Distributed By: Tristar Pictures

“20 years has just flown by eh?” asks a rhetorical Spud with the ever present innocence that the remaining cast certainly lack. A statement which will vary very much depending on the audience who in turn will either relate entirely or in fact feel the opposite. A film which has gone on to sit at the very high end of cult classic status, Danny Boyle’s most iconic feature released in 1996 has been on the viewing list of many generations and still stands as one of that decades most seminal films. With that in mind, palms obtained an abundance of perspiration at the announcement of a sequel with the original cast set twenty years after the original. With Irvine Welsh’s sequel novel ‘Porno’ to be the groundwork for the follow up, speculation was rife with a shimmering and collective sense of hope.

After walking out on his three friends and a life of a heroin addict, Mark Renton is now a married man in Amsterdam with a new addiction, running. Returning to Edinburgh to track down his old friend Sick Boy (Lee Miller) and of course his old partner in crime Spud (Bremner). Attempting to settle old quarrels, Renton is soon given an opportunity to find meaning in his life with a business proposition from Sick Boy. In the background however is the ever imposing and terrifying Francis Begbie (Carlyle) recently released and out for vengeance. 

The instantaneous realisation from the opening sequence is that even after all this time, Boyle’s knack for finding the bond between image and sound is more prevalent than ever and is something which made the first instalment all the more captivating. Here beats and rhythms are crafted to find the tonal sweet spot beautifully, be that in a light hearted running sequence or a foreboding chase in in an underground car park. The mix of swift cuts and lavish slow motion again show that the spark of Boyle’s ingenious visual creativity burns bright as we are treated to a range of sequences reflecting the rundown areas of Scotland, with truly fantastical sequences as iconic as Renton’s engulfment into the carpet back in 96. 

Working with regular cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle, Boyle creates a plethora of visual stimuli which tap into the heart of what T2 strives to be about, memory, regret and a desire to go back and do things differently, its here that the film finds it’s purpose and in some cases it’s primary audience, those who experienced the original at its release and were the same age. Its a film that provokes internal questions. What have you done with your life? Would you change what you did? Any regrets? Going against the grain of most sequels, Boyle chooses to utilise the 20 year gap as the core of the narrative, fuelling the themes of the simple passage of time as a sobering inevitability. With a questionable amount of flashbacks to the first instalment,these serve to contextualise the passage of time and unify the audience into the same characters but as part of an entirely different film to its predecessor.

It’s here the biggest punches are made emotionally as we see that whilst Renton has had a somewhat easier ride (Not without its drawbacks) Simon, Spud and Francis have all had it much rougher with Spud still hooked on the skag and seemingly in a never-ending circle of disappointment and isolation what with crippling mental issues and his relationship with old flame Gail (Shirley Henderson) and son on the rocks. From this introduction, this is where Spud almost takes primary focus throughout the story as we see his character grow from past loveable idiot to a driven and emotionally unstable junkie determined to kick the habit and make a fresh start. Simon, the once cocksure and charmer of the group has now been reduced to a blackmailing scheme with girlfriend Veronica (A likeable and engaging performance by Anjela Nedyalkova) and running a rundown pub. Begbie in an unsurprising turn of events is of course behind bars with nothing but revenge on his mind. 

With regards to performances, the love from all the old players bleeds through each scene as though 20 years have indeed flown by in the blink of an eye, both McGregor and Lee Miller slipping back into the roles which made their careers with effortless vigour, Sick boy’s penchant for moral elasticity ever present and guiltily enjoyable to watch, whilst Renton’s return is a much more sombre and almost wistful take on a man at something of an impasse in his life. The highlight however is as predicted, Carlyle’s menacing presence as Francis Begbie, his introductory scene a wonderfully comic take on a violent man being denied what he wants, freedom. With Carlyle walking the fine line between caricature and overt severity, each scene is it’s own shot in the arm for one of his iconic characters. Despite this, even he is not exempt from deeper emotional underpinning in the form of his wife and son who ground the once unstoppable Begbie as a father with important choices to make. 

As much a star of the film as its cast and style however, is the writing of John Hodge who has crafted a wonderfully fitting and enthralling path for these characters. With Welsh’s ‘Porno’ not given the full adaptation and instead taken from lightly, space is made to accommodate and make use of the abundance of themes and messages found in almost every scene, not to mention a slew of sharp dialogue, darkly poignant sequences and an edge of development for the main four. 

This leads to one of the unfortunate, though not devastating drawbacks of the film. Whilst the majority of the cast feel well fleshed out and investable, there’s a sense of disappointment in the representation of old faces Diane (Kelly MacDonald) and Gail with Diane only given one scene which whilst enjoyable to see, lacks any sense of chemistry there was in the original. Whilst Gail gains marginally more screen time, her role feels a touch like a missed opportunity. 

With the soundtrack being as iconic as the film itself, certain call backs are made within the song choices which work to tease the sense nostalgia without saturating the film entirely and whilst there are a few songs which serve to bring the story into the 21st century, there isn't a palpable sense of heart pounding fun and snapshot of the era which made for one of the best soundtracks of the 90’s. 

As a 20 year old, my views will of course not represent those of a forty something who saw it in their prime though that said, perhaps thats the beauty of Boyle’s latest in that the variety of feelings to be extracted from each viewer demonstrates the raw emotion both behind and in front of the camera and the universal themes it carries to it’s core. Its a film with heart, soul and a conscience, still maintaining the sense of uncertainty and apprehension humanity carries in its everyday life. 

If there was ever any trepidation before the release of this film, all has faded as Boyle has most certainly pulled it out of the bag with a film which serves to brush away the dust and lay bare the issues of age, betrayal, friendship, fear, hatred and love in a sequel which respects it’s past and is aware of what skepticism may be found and chooses to be about the wider concept of nostalgia, rather than a heartless follow up. Its a film which isn't trying to be as good as it’s original, making it all the more emotive and at times breathtaking. 

"You were an addict, so be addicted, just be addicted to something else" - Mark Renton