T2 Trainspotting

Name: T2 Trainspotting
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Released: March 17, 2017
Duration: 117 min
Rating: 67
Cast: Ewan McGregor, Ewen Bremner, Jonny Lee Miller, Robert Carlyle

2017

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 42 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 213 Ratings

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7.3

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7.3	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 213 Ratings

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T2 Trainspotting (International Trailer 2)

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Movie Details & Credits

TriStar Pictures | Release Date: March 17, 2017 | R

Starring: Ewan McGregor, Ewen Bremner, Jonny Lee Miller, Robert Carlyle

Summary: First there was an opportunity......then there was a betrayal. Twenty years have gone by. Much has changed but just as much remains the same. Mark Renton (Ewan McGregor) returns to the only place he can ever call home. They are waiting for him: Spud (Ewen Bremner), Sick Boy (Jonny Lee Miller), and Begbie (Robert Carlyle). Other old friendsFirst there was an opportunity......then there was a betrayal. Twenty years have gone by. Much has changed but just as much remains the same. Mark Renton (Ewan McGregor) returns to the only place he can ever call home. They are waiting for him: Spud (Ewen Bremner), Sick Boy (Jonny Lee Miller), and Begbie (Robert Carlyle). Other old friends are waiting too: sorrow, loss, joy, vengeance, hatred, friendship, love, longing, fear, regret, diamorphine, self-destruction and mortal danger, they are all lined up to welcome him, ready to join the dance.… Expand

Director: Danny Boyle

Genre(s): Drama, Comedy

Rating: R

Runtime: 117 min

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Critic Reviews

100

Steve Persall

Mar 28, 2017

Like its predecessor T2 Trainspotting aggressively shocks and charms, a singular example of cinematic bravura now improbably duplicated. Read full review

Jeannette Catsoulis

Mar 16, 2017

Playing with memory — the characters’ and our own — allows Mr. Boyle and his cinematographer, Anthony Dod Mantle, to conjure some of the movie’s loveliest, most melancholy images. Read full review

Ann Hornaday

Mar 23, 2017

Its virtuosity, wit, fleet performances and cool self-awareness notwithstanding, T2 doesn’t feel like a necessary film as much as a respectful and respectable exercise in fan service. Read full review

The Film Stage Ed Frankl

Feb 15, 2017

Boyle’s verve as a director means there’s still plenty of vibrant imagery, alongside a script that, although lacking any of the electricity of the original’s state-of-the-nation wisecracks (“Scotland is a nation colonized by wankers”), is funny and disarmingly melancholic. Read full review

Bill Goodykoontz

Mar 23, 2017

It’s as if Boyle is saying he isn’t afraid to visit the past. And he does it about as successfully as one could — T2 is a movie worth seeing and enjoying if you’ve seen the first film (less so if you haven’t). What he’s not as successful at is telling us why. Read full review

The Telegraph Robbie Collin

Jan 19, 2017

Like the original, T2 is happy enough spending time with its characters whatever they get up to. Very little that happens in the film seems to affect where it’s going, and the few things that do feel dashed off, almost as an afterthought. It’s also littered with callbacks to the first film – some as stirring as they are subtle, others exasperatingly cute. Read full review

Neil Young

Jan 19, 2017

A missed opportunity on multiple levels, T2 is stylistically an overwrought rehash which relies heavily on over-caffeinated camerawork and flashy effects (cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle's trademark gritty flair is overwhelmed by a flurry of Dutch angles and freeze-frames) to distract us from its essential paucity of raison d'etre. Read full review

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User Reviews

kinnults

Apr 1, 2017

After 20 years, the new main "addict" is no longer the drug addiction, the aesthetic hallucinations, but it is those same routines, the comfort zone that takes us the end of the human being to final despair. Perhaps the film has always addressed this since its first film of 1996. The city ofAfter 20 years, the new main "addict" is no longer the drug addiction, the aesthetic hallucinations, but it is those same routines, the comfort zone that takes us the end of the human being to final despair. Perhaps the film has always addressed this since its first film of 1996. The city of Edinburgh is a stifling environment in which director Danny Boyle knows how to do well to interact the viewer with the iconic characters. The soundtrack and catchy phrases show us the passion to produce this fickle and captivating film in the head from the British creator Irvine Welsh. Pure and honest nostalgia. "Choose future, Choose Life".… Expand

2 of 7 users found this helpful25

Armada_46

May 30, 2017

Trainspotting is one of my favourite movies and I rank them among the greatest movies ever. I'm not sure what these critics are seeing but I feel like this movie is a phenomenal sequel and one of the best, as far as sequels go. If you were ever a fan of the first one, make sure to go out ofTrainspotting is one of my favourite movies and I rank them among the greatest movies ever. I'm not sure what these critics are seeing but I feel like this movie is a phenomenal sequel and one of the best, as far as sequels go. If you were ever a fan of the first one, make sure to go out of your way and see this one too. It packs great soundtrack, cinematography, acting, and storytelling. This movie will keep you on the edge of your seat!… Expand

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

Broyax

Apr 20, 2019

On reprend les mêmes et on recommence... ou plutôt on continue là où on s'était arrêté 20 ans auparavant. C'est un gros défi de sortir une suite après tant d'années et pourtant un défi largement relevé et réussi, contre toute attente !

C'est que le scénario -encore un brin alambiqué iciOn reprend les mêmes et on recommence... ou plutôt on continue là où on s'était arrêté 20 ans auparavant. C'est un gros défi de sortir une suite après tant d'années et pourtant un défi largement relevé et réussi, contre toute attente !

C'est que le scénario -encore un brin alambiqué ici cependant- a su profiter du temps passé et habilement l'exploiter : entre nostalgie et désenchantement, nos lascars (irrécupérables...) ont sensiblement changé tout en restant les mêmes. Car chassez le naturel, il revient au galop et nos branques restent des branques, encore tarés, magouilleurs et excessifs... Mais moins camés qu'avant tout de même. L'ajout de la petite nana est un choix discutable et assez anecotique malgré son importance vers la fin : elle constitue davantage une pièce rapportée qu'un personnage aussi intéressant que les autres...

En tout cas, les comédiens malgré le poids des ans ont toujours les tics et les tocs de leurs personnages et une patate d'enfer, à l'image de cette bande originale qui envoit encore du lourd quand il faut. Avec l'expérience, ils sont devenus plus vicelards et plus sournois, chacun à leur façon (d'abord l'opportunité puis la trahison...) tandis que Carlyle, notamment, n'a rien perdu de la rage du psychopathe, bien au contraire...

Le film reste assurément déjanté, bien drolatique par moments mais désormais émouvant de temps à autre (le désenchantement dont je parlais plus haut) alors que les protagonistes dressent un état des lieux de leur vie et choix passés...

Globalement et de manière surprenante, la suite parvient à s'élever par rapport à l'original : moins sur la surface, elle donne plus d'épaisseur à cette bande de tarés qui ne se sont pas bonfiés avec l'âge mais nous apparaissent plus humains que jamais.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

FractalGrinder

Dec 14, 2020

T2 is not a bad picture, but it is not a good movie either. While first Trainspotting - based on a book with the same title - had a very well written story progression and characters played by briliant actors, there's T2. Second film based on a novel by Irvin Welsh is not a well writtenT2 is not a bad picture, but it is not a good movie either. While first Trainspotting - based on a book with the same title - had a very well written story progression and characters played by briliant actors, there's T2. Second film based on a novel by Irvin Welsh is not a well written script with good concepts and good actors, but good actors with concepts and script written so it can fit for their play. I sometimes come back to T2 and rewatch it, but it happens more often with the first movie since it is simply a masterpiece in my opinion.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

oDjento

Mar 17, 2017

Whilst this film doesn't feel as kinetic as the original it provides us with a nice viewon ageing and what is does (or doesn't) do for us. This film does seem a lot more pointless and the ending gets racked up into a silly hollywood-like chase, and with some gratuitous cinematic and editingWhilst this film doesn't feel as kinetic as the original it provides us with a nice viewon ageing and what is does (or doesn't) do for us. This film does seem a lot more pointless and the ending gets racked up into a silly hollywood-like chase, and with some gratuitous cinematic and editing decisions made that shows this films wants to be something new but can't let go it's predecessor. The film overall becomes sloppy and overdramatic in its narrative, but still offers enough visual and comedic wonder to the screen to make it at least a worthwhile watch. This film is funnier than the first, but in no way is it better. An enjoyable, yet needless reunion. 6.0/10… Expand

1 of 3 users found this helpful12

Spangle

Aug 11, 2017

It has been a fair while since I watched Danny Boyle's Trainspotting, but T2 Trainspotting is nonetheless a welcomed return to Edinburgh, where we find our protagonists from the first film. While possessing the same characters and much of the same spirit as its predecessor, the film rarelyIt has been a fair while since I watched Danny Boyle's Trainspotting, but T2 Trainspotting is nonetheless a welcomed return to Edinburgh, where we find our protagonists from the first film. While possessing the same characters and much of the same spirit as its predecessor, the film rarely feels like it is anything but a sequel. It is the kind of film that reminisces on the events of the previous film - a lot of which is brought on naturally with the characters having not seen one another for 20 years either - and never really takes the time to establish its own memories. It is so caught in the past, it forgets to establish the present, opting instead to spend the whole rehashing old plot points and then just winding up ending the same exact way essentially. It is the kind of sequel that, as it goes along, it just sort of winks at the audience and asks, "You remember that part of the first movie?" While still a largely positive experience, Boyle and his sequel never really live up to the original nor does it ever establish why this was necessary.

As with the original, T2 Trainspotting continues to feel like a perfect match between material and director. Focusing on this group of junkies and where they are 20 years later, the film shows some dabbling in drugs and some general re-focusing of their addiction on something positive. Yet, the jump cuts, the "hip-hop" cuts, and constant musical feeling to the film is right up Boyle's alley. His jarring and uncomfortable method of shooting films always leaves his work feeling wholly original and an experience that can only come when watching a Boyle film. After seeing Steve Jobs be largely devoid of Boyle's voice in favor of Aaron Sorkin's, it is a welcome return to "Boyle the auteur" instead of "Boyle the hired gun". While Steve Jobs is a better film, it could have been directed by any number of capable talents. As it stands, T2 Trainspotting is a film that could have only come from Boyle. Jumping from scene-to-scene rapidly, infusing 1970s/1980s rock music, and constantly "flickering" light due to trains passing outside, T2 Trainspotting is a kinetic and frantic film at all turns due to who is sitting in the director's chair.

In the course of the film, the greatest achievement by T2 Trainspotting is its portrayal of addiction over time. Obviously, when they were young, they were focused on getting high. Now, in their 40s, these men look back at themselves and wonder why. Some are still addicted to heroin, some do cocaine, another was in jail, and the other is free of drugs. Through deaths of children, impotency, missed chances at fatherhood, and divorce, these four men are still lost and trying to find themselves, having wasted their youth on drugs and still wasting their lives on drugs and crime. Yet, they are not just lost causes or losers who cannot help themselves; they are addicts. As Mark (Ewan McGregor) so astutely puts it, they are all addicts but they need to find something else to be addicted to. For all of them, they continue to be lost and stab one another in the back because they fall into the same habits, refuse to grow up, and continue to get lost in their addiction once they get back into their old way of life.

However, while the film can compel in that fashion, it also cannot help but repel and make the audience wonder why they bothered. It is not a bad film as I said. Boyle and the smart commentary on addiction over time more than make it worth a watch, but it is a film that feels more obsessed with showing clips from Trainspotting than actually telling a story. Hell, Spud (Ewen Bremner) even writes a serious of stories about their time 20 years ago that the characters sit around and reminisce about. Boyle cannot help but cut to scenes from the original, highlighting for the audience just how similar everything is and how they go through the same beats. Thematically, it obviously shows how nothing has really changed and these are the same people prone to the same mistakes. In other words, one never heals from addiction, they just find news ways to cope with it. However, cinematically, it rarely works. Instead, the film feels more concerned with reminding audiences of what happened, referencing itself, and then just cutting to the chase and showing clips of the original. It is the kind of self-referential style that comedy sequels often take and are criticized for, yet T2 Trainspotting seems to have gotten off scot-free on this issue. While it does not ruin the film and the overall picture comes out alright in the end, it does make it a sequel that feels too much like a re-hash and re-envisioning of the original instead of a strong and worthy continuation of the stories of its characters.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

machetethrills

May 24, 2017

This film is like reading old graffiti in a toilet then drawing a sad face next to it using a syringe as a pen.

T2 Trainspotting is an extended recap of Trainspotting without the promise of a cyborg Armageddon "Previously in trainspotting, a bunch of losers took heroine and danced to iggyThis film is like reading old graffiti in a toilet then drawing a sad face next to it using a syringe as a pen.

T2 Trainspotting is an extended recap of Trainspotting without the promise of a cyborg Armageddon

"Previously in trainspotting, a bunch of losers took heroine and danced to iggy pop".

As relevant as Begbies wasted erection. Load of old pish basically.

Shame on Irvine Welsh and Danny Boyle for polluting the world with this drug propoganda music video.… Expand

1 of 5 users found this helpful14

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