T2: Trainspotting
/"First, there's an opportunity. Then... there's a betrayal."
Filmology Rating: 2.5 out of 4
For those who want to know my in depth thoughts on the original Trainspotting I suggest you read my review here. For those interested in only a quick thought, it’s a good film that has one of the best soundtracks but it doesn’t speak to me on any personal level. So I was never expecting nor wanting a sequel to the cult film.
After a medical scare Mark “Rent Boy” Renton, played again by Ewan McGregor, returns to Edinburgh to reunite with his former friends. Mark however doesn’t get the warmest of receptions since he left Edinburgh twenty years earlier after stealing £16,000 from his friends. Mark has to make peace with the fact he betrayed his friends while also continuing to live his life.
Danny Boyle cannot make a bad looking film. All of his films should be used when on the a demo reel for Blu-ray disc or the latest 4K streaming. Just like the original film T2 Trainspotting is a visual treat for the eye and I could easily watch the film on mute and have a grand experience with the film, in fact I might have a better experience with the film. The cinematographer, Anthony Dod Mantle, has worked with Boyle on other films like Trance, 127 Hours, and Slumdog Millionaire and he has shot some other films without Boyle that seem to be missing a sense of style like The Eagle and Our Kind of Traitor. Once again those films don’t look bad per say but they don’t have that amazing visual sense of color and movement that Boyle helps him bring into the shots. The editing in this film is also incredibly important, the film at every moment needs to have a sense of life and to achieve that without giving the viewer a headache of the always cutting image. Jon Harris, the editor of this film, has worked with Matthew Vaughn on films like Kick-Ass and Kingsman: The Secret Service so he has perfected the art of making a film always feel kinetic without feeling over cut. Technically the film is near perfection and should be celebrated highly for that achievement.
As for the plot of the film, I’m at a loss for positive words. I have nothing against slice of life films, some of my favorite films of all time are in the slice of life genre like Boyhood, the Before Trilogy, and Once. All of those films have something to say, something to make the audience think about how we connect and interact with each other. I think it would be foolish to say that T2 Trainspotting doesn’t have anything to say but I think it would be correct to say that it has nothing new to offer. Every emotional beat was already hit in the first film, and if you haven’t seen the first film then you might enjoy the thematic story arcs to this film but you will be at a loss as to who the characters are so I don’t believe the arcs would pay off emotional for you. I love the life monologue given by Ewan McGregor but I also loved that in the first film. While I loved seeing it, it didn’t have the emotional kickstarter that it did the first time I heard it. Most of the best moments of this film are repeats of the original and I found that to be rather underwhelming. I do understand that some people keep up the same habits year after year but that is uninteresting to watch, if I wanted to see people acting the same as they were twenty years ago I would return to my high school town where at least half of my graduating class has stayed. It’s underwhelming yet it does fit the characters. The one character aspect that I felt was terrible that Boyle and John Hodge, the writer of the film, made was having the character of
Francis “Franco” Begbie played by Robert Carlyle. Carlyle plays the part perfectly, as do all the other actors in this film, but the script completely lets him down as a character and turns him into a horror movie slasher. That characteristic doesn’t seem to fit where the character should be nor does it seem to fit the universe of this film, I did find myself laughing at the situations at first but they do become repetitive and bland.
T2 Trainspotting is a visual treat but offers little for those expecting the emotional journey that the characters went on in the first film. While this film offers nothing offense and is still one of the better sequels to come out within the past few years I still know that the creative team for this film can do better and I hope to see them collaborate on more projects together soon.
Rating: Rent It
-Jonny G