T2 TRAINSPOTTING – the follow up to masterpiece cult film from 1996 – hit the red carpet last night in Edinburgh and while some reviews stated that it wasn’t as good as the first, others have hailed it as being even better than the 1996 groundbreaking original. It makes for a strung-out week for fans who highly expect another instant classic when it’s released nationwide this Friday.
First things first, this is not a movie adaptation of Irvine Welsh’s novel ‘Porno’. Instead, Danny Boyle has followed the gang – Renton, Sick Boy, Spud and Begbie – into a modern world where social media is the corner stone in society’s daily diet and cocaine, keep fit and other oxymoronic lifestyles are the norm. The whole gang are still as messed up, but with growing old being a – laid on thick – theme of the movie, it makes for a vastly different world than before.
Sex, drugs, rock ‘n’ roll, friendship and betrayal were the order of the day in the original Trainspotting film and T2 Trainspotting is pretty much a lesser dose of the same. The film flows well and rarely, if ever, stutters or relies on what we already know about the characters. Maybe with exception to the odd comedic one liner and the updated epic, Choose Life, monologue from Renton.
T2 Trainspotting reveals some of the vital information left out from the original film which made the characters in the novel all the more ordinary. This coupled with hilarious character development, and a major twist, stirs emotions that will bring you to the brink of tears. It’s a bit of a rollercoaster at times but the fast-paced screenplay and often profound dialogue helps T2 Trainspotting sit alongside the original perfectly.
Ultimately Danny Boyle’s reintroduction and development of the characters is organic and hilarious enough that nostalgia mostly takes a back seat as we follow the crew hurtling towards their inevitable doom in a no-nonsense and riveting storyline.
Arguably the most iconic detail of Trainspotting was it’s classic tune-laden soundtrack, which forever had those movie soundtracks known as “being that tune from Trainspotting”. The use of music in T2 Trainspotting is equally as impacting as the original, with a major update in place.
At the premiere Danny Boyle hailed Edinburgh-based hip-hop group ‘Young Fathers’ as being his favourite discovery in making the sequel. Having their music immortalised in the coolest way possible, will no doubt be a great honor for the local group. Blondie make an impact again with classic ‘Dreaming’ which is perfectly fitting and more melancholic than ever before.
Iggy Pop’s, sardonic, ‘Lust for Life’ incites more euphoria in the movie. And a remixed version by The Prodigy is used which really batters through the speakers with more unapologetic violence than conceivably possible. It’s all very ironic.
Wolf Alice, The Rubberbandits, Fat White Family are also featured alongside The Clash, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Queen, RUN DMC among others. A rendition of a song that’s sung among a certain Scottish football teams supporters arguably steals the show and sets up one of the most hilarious scenes of all time.
T2 Trainspotting is a thrilling, emotional, yet hilarious visit from old pals you haven’t seen for 20 years. There’s no need to panic, it’s far from pish.
