At cinemas nationwide
Set twenty years after the events of the first film, T2 Trainspotting begins with Mark Renton (Ewan McGregor) returning to Edinburgh after his stable life in Amsterdam falls apart. He soon reunites with Sick Boy (Jonny Lee Miller) and his Bulgarian girlfriend Veronika (Anjela Nedyalkova) and his plans to set up a brothel with Veronika as a madam. They recruit Spud (Ewen Bremner), who is struggling once again with heroin, to help with the building work. However, Begbie (Robert Carlyle), is out of prison – and once he learns about Renton’s betrayal all these years ago, he wants revenge.
T2 is a well-acted but ultimately sub-par sequel that wastes first-rate performances from the cast of the original film on an overly stylised, conventional narrative that owes more to the post-Lock, Stock crime films of the late 90’s and early 00’s than to the mostly realistic tone of the original. Boyle’s direction uses neon colour grading, CGI overlays and constant flashback sequences to not only the first film, but to Renton, Begbie, Sick Boy and Spud as children. However, these stylistic flourishes also overshadow rather than complement the film’s more serious moments, and are not helped by the inclusion of overindulgent sequences that aim towards fan service rather than character consistency. The most striking example is Renton and Sick Boy’s musical number in a Loyalist pub whose clients they are attempting to rob, which belongs more in a sub-par broad comedy and feels completely out of place as part of a Trainspotting sequel.
The narrative is also a let-down from the tightly-structured, well-paced plot of the first film. Subplots such as Spud’s newly-found talent for writing and Begbie attempting to get his son involved in his life of crime are jammed awkwardly alongside a routine main story concerning a love triangle between Renton, Sick Boy and Veronika. This overly-stuffed narrative results in more interesting plot threads, such as Renton readjusting back into life with his estranged father (James Cosmo) and Spud trying to maintain contact with his wife and son, being overlooked in favour of more over the top sequences, such as the climax, which relies on plot conveniences and action beats straight out of B-level Hollywood.
A recurring theme in T2 Trainspotting is living in the past. Sick Boy, Spud and ultimately Begbie can’t forgive Renton for his betrayal in the first film and both Renton and Sick Boy are criticised by Veronika for reminiscing about old times instead of focusing on the present. Boyle should have listened to her – the constant flashbacks to old footage from moments audiences know and love just serves to emphasise the shortcomings of the sequel and how it needs to rely on the popularity of the original film to appeal to audiences. Choose life, choose another film to see.