[yasr_overall_rating]
After 20 years abroad, Mark Renton returns to Scotland and reunites with his old friends, Sick Boy, Spud, and Begbie.
First there was an opportunity. Then there was a betrayal. What happened after that? “T2 Trainspotting,” Danny Boyle’s sequel to his now-iconic “Trainspotting” (both films were written by John Hodge, based on the novels “Trainspotting” and “Porno” by Irvine Welsh), answers that question, picking up 20 years after Mark Renton (Ewan McGregor) snuck out in the middle of the night with the money he and his buddies scored in a drug deal, leaving only Spud (Ewen Bremner) with his cut, and Sick Boy (Jonny Lee Miller) and Franco Begbie (Robert Carlyle) with nothing. We learn that in the decades since, Renton moved to Amsterdam, got a real job, and a wife, but all of that is kind of falling apart now as he returns to his old stomping grounds of Edinburgh. He finds Spud still struggling with his heroin addiction, which has severely damaged his relationship with his partner and his child. He also visits Sick Boy, who has not yetforgiven Renton, has transitioned from heroin to cocaine and spends his time running a pub and profiting off various scams with a young Bulgarian woman Veronika (Anjela Nedyalkova). Also holding a grudge is Franco, who is in prison but is planning an escape, and intends to rectify the wrong that was done to him by his once-friend. And so, the men begin a trip down their past, clashing and bonding over their shared history, making for one of the more nostalgic and self-referential sequels in recent memory.
Even after all this time, the talented cast members have no trouble slipping right back into the roles that made them famous. McGregor became a star for a reason and listening to him riff on his classic “choose life” speech is a real joy. Renton and Sick Boy’s complicated friendship is probably the most crucial and emotionally interesting relationship in the film, and Miller is really terrific, bringing some pathos to the slimy, resentful middle-aged man that Sick Boy has become. Bremner remains the most sympathetic of the bunch, turning in a heartbreaking performance as a man who just can’t escape his addiction. And Carlyle brings even more of that angry energy he had in the first film, only relenting in a couple of quiet and somewhat moving moments between Franco and his family. Kelly MacDonald also makes a pleasant but short re-appearance as Diane, and a couple of other familiar faces pop up well. Just as good as the returning cast is Nedyalkova as Veronika, who over the course of the film forms a unique and interesting relationship with each of the guys.
“T2 Trainspotting” is a strange film. It’s stylistically very similar to its predecessor, with manic editing and a cool, rocking soundtrack. It actually replays a lot of footage from the original “Trainspotting,” and most of the events from that first film are explicitly referenced at some point in this one. Even so, it’s not quite as momentous and fast-paced as the original, but it kind of makes sense. Much like its aging protagonists, the film wants to recapture that same feeling from 20 years ago, but it can’t quite seem to get there, or at least sustain it for the entire length of its runtime. As a fan of the original film, I found myself really invested in watching these guys reconnect and learn exactly how much they all have or have not matured over the years. But it seems Danny Boyle might be too obsessed with his own film’s legacy for a non-”Trainspotting” fan to really enjoy the film. At one point in the film, Sick Boy says to Renton, but also, maybe, to everyone watching, “Nostalgia. That’s why you’re here. You’re a tourist in your own youth.”
In select theaters March 24th
