Crackling with kinetic energy, director Danny Boyle returns to a story that fits his vision and energy like a glove, a glove with a fist in it. As impressive in the now as the original was twenty years ago, T2 is that rarest of movies, a sequel that can hold its own alongside the original.
The main players that lived through the first film are all back and Renton, Sick Boy, Spud and Begbie are as dysfunctional as ever. The story set twenty years later borrows heavily from the novels Trainspotting and Porno. Boyle’s technique of injecting scenes from the original work gives T2 a strong and believable link to the past. This continuity does author Irvine Welsh proud.
The story revolves around Renton (Ewan McGregor) returning to his old stomping grounds twenty years after he did his mates dirty and his return in most instances is most unwelcome. It’s amusing to find out where these iconic characters have ended up after two decades of that thing called life.
Getting the balance correct between the grey and grainy back story and the high energy onslaught of both sight and sound in the new edition highlights Boyle’s mastery of the subject matter. It’s been a long twenty years but T2 Trainspotting has been more than worth the wait.
Rob Hudson
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