Trainspotting 2

Revisiting some films and books are like meeting your old friends for a drink. So when Danny Boyle announced his sequel to Trainspotting (one of my favorite films and books), I was very eager to watch it.

Mark Renton has a heart attack on a treadmill and decides to visit his old friends in Scotland. Spud is on the verge of suicide. Sick Boy is managing his old aunty's pub while blackmailing squares by shooting videos of their sexual escapades. He is also in love with a Bulgarian prostitute. Begbie escapes jail and comes to meet Sick Boy. The old crew is back, but they are older. Life is passing them by. They all get together for one final heist. But Begbie has other plans.

The film did not disappoint. It has many poignant and laugh out loud scenes that are comparable to the original. There are also many nods to the first part. Parts of the film are almost like a music video. As the audience, you feel like standing up and dancing. The pulsating start with the joggers on the treadmill jogging to Shotgun Mouthwash, the scene at the pub with everyone singing along to Radio Ga Ga and Renton and Sick Boy's antics at the Protestant get together all remind you of the original.

But there are many mediocre scenes as well. The final confrontation with Begbie was annoying and poorly written. At times, I got the impression that the film tried to overtly remind me of the first part. It is definitely a sequel that lives off the reputation of the first part. It does not stand very well on its own.

All the actors are excellent. Though Robert Carlyle deserves special mention as the force of nature that is Francis Begbie. The soundtrack was also pretty good. Prodigy's remix of Iggy Pop's Lust for Life was very catchy.

A couple of frames deserve special mention. The circular green light that shines on a bar table with a half drunk glass of beer. And the part where Renton is walking towards Sick Boy's pub and you get a view of the pub from the distance. I liked the lighting in that scene.