AsianTrumpSupporter
Platinum Member
I was an 80s kid and was in high school in the 90s when the original movie came out. For those who didn't grow up with that movie, maybe T2 Trainspotting isn't as nostalgic. But I loved the original and Danny Boyle films in general. T2 isn't as good as the original Trainspotting, but the good news is it's not trying to recreate what made the first one so great.
T2 takes place 20 years after the original ended. Without giving anything away for either movie, T2 Trainspotting is about where these characters are 20 years later, old grudges, dealing with getting old, and family. It's actually a very deep movie. It just doesn't have that adrenaline shot to the veins feel that movies like Trainspotting and Pulp Fiction have.
The greatest thing I can probably say about this movie is it doesn't have the cliche Hollywood ending, and characters who were a bit two dimensional in the first one (Spud, Begbie, and Sick Boy) are more fleshed out and feel like real characters.
I had read in a review that this movie is really about Spud and Spud finding his voice. It definitely is. What surprised me is how much this movie is also about Begbie. Begbie is a clear sociopath and psycho, but he's also very interesting to watch. This movie fleshed him out a lot more.
Spud and Begbie were my two favorite characters in this movie with Sick Boy a close second. I was surprised that Mark Renton (Ewan McGregor) wasn't as interesting, but he gets his character growth as well. Ewan McGregor did a fine job, but this movie is definitely much more about Spud and Begbie first and, second, Sick Boy.
But I think Ewan McGregor is a fine actor when given the right role, and he did very well in this movie to service the story and let these lesser developed characters shine. Ewan McGregor is killing it in Fargo Season 3, and I also hope to see him reprise his role as Obi-Wan Kenobi in a solo Obi-Wan movie.
But I still highly recommend this film if you liked the first one, because it is the perfect way to continue and, really, conclude this story about these characters. Definitely, do NOT see T2 Trainspotting without seeing Trainspotting first, or you'll be lost as to what's going on for a lot of the movie.
8/10
I'd give the original Trainspotting a 10/10. Yes, no movie is perfect, but 10/10 doesn't mean a perfect movie for me. It just means one of the best films I've personally ever seen. I thought Steve Jobs by Danny Boyle was a better movie, but I love the Trainspotting world and characters.
Last edited: