T2 Trainspotting Theatrical Release Review

Danny Boyle's big screen adaptation of Trainspotting not only launched his directing career, but it helped a great deal of Scottish and British Actors become well known both as leading men in the case of Ewan McGregor as well as character roles in a variety of feature films and television for Robert Carlisle, Ewan Bremner, Johnny Lee Miller and Kevin McKidd. Loosely based on Irving Welsh's sequel novel, T2 Trainspotting is funny, poignant, sad, and beautiful all at the same time. What made the original Trainspotting so memorable was not some of the quasi psychedelic effects for lack of a better expression, but the memorable characters that viewers loved and feared whether it was Spud (Bremner) or Begbie (Carlyle), whose characterization in the first film was arguably the scariest sociopathic personality to appear on the big screen since Joe Pesci's role in Goodfellas. Shirley Henderson, James Cosmo, Eileen Nicholas, and Kelly Macdonald also reprise their roles from the first film.

Twenty years have passed, but the actors are spot on and the film in it's own way brings closure for each of the characters and arguably in as much as can be gathered from the events in the story has a bittersweet if not happy ending.

Boyle has matured greatly as a visual storyteller and at times employs techniques that reminded me a bit of Oliver Stone's more avant-garde features from the 1990s, but filtered with the director's own sensibilities. The accents are a bit thick for the untrained ear. Not as much as Under The Skin, but it may take a few minutes for American audiences to acclimate. 

If there was anything I did not like it was the T2 portion of the title. I think the film should have just been called Trainspotting. All things considered it was fun to catch up with Renton (McGregor), Spud (Bremner), Sick Boy (Miller) and Begbie (Carlyle) again and watch things resolve themselves with both poignance, grace and hope.

T2 Trainspotting opened on Friday March 17, 2017 in the United States and is playing in American cinemas across the country. Check your local listings for theater and show times.

(c) Copyright 2017 By Mark A. Rivera.

All Rights Reserved.