T2: Trainspotting Review

Lets start this off by saying that Trainspotting is a brilliant film, lightning in a bottle and perfect for the time it came out and to be perfectly honest it had a satisfying conclusion.

That brings us on to T2: Trainspotting which for all accounts is actually a good film, for me the best film of 2017 so far. So with that said i think that T2: Trainspotting is a forgettable film and a bad sequel, i know that contradicts what i previously said, but i think it is possible to have a good film that is forgettable.

T2 does not really add to the original, and to be perfectly honest the film feels like a sequel made 20 years later meaning that rather than just continuing it likes to remind the audience of the first film and feels more of a reunion than a sequel. I did go into T2 expecting the worse, my track record of watching films in the cinema recently has been poor and i was not expecting a Danny Boyle film to turn that around but it did, the film just works, i have no idea how to explain it but it just works.

Ok lets talk about some negatives. As previously stated the parts where it literally replays parts of the first film feel out of place and stop the film from transcending into a good sequel. The use of modern day social media and technology could have been a really interesting idea for a Trainspotting sequel and when they started to introduce it i thought that i would go somewhere but instead it just happens and there is no resolution also when i hear and iPhone ringtone in a film it takes me out of the experience and i roll my eyes, a simple vibrate will work fine or a licensed song. The biggest sin of this film is that it does not add to the original or elevate the original, it simply feels like a reunion and there is just a lack of focus with the film, which can be said about the original but the original had more of a flow to it.

With the negatives out of the way lets talk about what i did like. Performances, all of the original cast that return do put in good performances and i have to say that the strongest may be Ewan Bremner as Spud, who actually added depth to his character. I just really like how the film had a pace about it, it felt fast and some of the subplots were really interesting and the film had some good humour, but did not stray into silly territory. The film does not pull punches either, there is a lot of strong content in this film, i wont go into any particulars in fear of spoiling but the film earns is 18/R rating and i would prefer it if more films strayed towards the R rating again, because it just makes movies feel more visceral.

Overall i would have to say T2 is not a film i can see myself watching again anytime soon, or even buying when it comes out, but maybe a few years down the line i will revisit it. A very good film with a nice pace, good performances and some interesting sub plots. As a sequel the film falls short and nothing truly memorable happens.

7.5/10

Written By
Ashley Harvey