T2: Trainspotting the review

Seeing Ewan McGregor strut his stuff in Cav is worth the entry fee alone

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Trainspotting has always been synonymous with Edinburgh, even before coming to the uni people would say, “well, you have to watch Trainspotting”, as though the ticket inspector would be questioning you on it on the train up and send you home for getting Renton’s name wrong. That’s what the first film did so well, it captured the setting and feeling of a city at a particular time in the most stylish and well produced way.

The problem is that that film is so contained in 90s Edinburgh, that the idea of sequel to it gave me the same feeling anticipation as exams results; hopeful, but terrified. T2 is really an incredibly ambitious film purely because of the success of the last one and the amount of time between the two, as it follows the stories of Renton, Sick Boy, Begbie and Spud 20 years on from the first film.

This is where the film runs in to its first few problems, in the last film it was clear that it was Renton’s story, his take on the impoverished world around him and the characters that inhabit it. This meant that the story was incredibly neat and punchy, with almost every scene furthering the plot or the characters’ development. T2, however, in an attempt at fan service splits the story in four parts which slows the pace of the film and clutters it with with unnecessary scenes. You get the sense that many of the decisions Danny Boyle makes on this film pander to fan service, without making T2 a good film in its own right.

Photograph: Tristar Productions, Inc 2017

Honestly, this film is better titled ‘Nostalgia: The Movie’, as it much more focused on reminding you how much you enjoyed the first film than pretending to be something in its own right. They visit the same places and have more throwbacks than your average girls Instagram account on a Thursday. It could be argued this is down to the film being essentially about growing old, but, in my opinion, the film fails to directly tackle the issues of growing old for the characters. Instead it substitutes cheap flashbacks to the previous film for genuine reflection, giving the audience a quick hit of nostalgia but little in the way of substance.

At points it really does feel like Danny Boyle has lost touch, which pains me to say because he is one of my favourite directors. An important feature of the first film was the music, but that’s something that is seriously lacking this time around, making it feel like he dug a couple of old records form his basement and slapped them over the top. Moreover, the club scene filmed in Cav is undeniably cringe (even more than it usually looks), making me wonder if I was even born before the last time Danny Boyle was inside a club.

Spud giving Calton Street a little visit

Having said that, there is nothing quite like seeing Ewan McGregor and Johnny Lee Miller strut their stuff in quite possibly the weirdest club in Edinburgh. These are by far the most entertaining bits of the film, seeing A-list actors swan about the city you live in everyday, it’s both bizarre and beautiful. It’s strange because the film is set in such easily recognisable places that you’ll probably know where every scene is set.

Unfortunately, these moments aren’t enough to carry the film. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t hate the film and certainly enjoyed bits of it, but its more that it just was disappointingly mediocre. It was never going to live up to the heights of the first film but in my opinion it came nowhere close. You should still definitely go see it for the hit of nostalgia and to see Spud stumble out off the Nicholson Bargain Store, but don’t get your hopes up.