Review of T2 Trainspotting (2017) by K Nife C — 01 Apr 2017

Most films don't need, much less deserve a sequel. It's very rare that one improves upon or lends anything to the original as most films should be able to accomplish what they set out to do in the time and place they were crafted.

Here is a film that would have been completely unnecessary if not for the fact that it is amazingly well done and an asset to the classic predecessor of twenty years ago. Even with a nauseating headache, I still managed to laugh and cry and love every minute of this experience.

Sick Boy says, "It's just nostalgia. You're a tourist in your own youth." He's right, and they are cautionary words for all of us. In an age where everything has been done to death and everything to come seems to be a rabbit hole of references, how do we build a new identity and a fresh perspective in the twilight years of our republic? He probably wasn't really getting at that, but it hit me hard.

Many of the cast return, and their characters ended up just as you would expect, but their arcs are still in transit as you watch history repeat itself. You can tell that these films are Danny Boyle's labors of love, as the innovative stylism hasn't left, the pacing and space are updated, and the soundtrack is just as bad-ass.

It's a type of effortless psychedelia that you don't often see. The only thing that I could really criticize is that the film lets slip explanations of the cryptic metaphors of the first film, but even then it doesn't do so lazily or feel forced.

If you get a chance to see this during its limited theatrical run, I would highly recommend doing so as it is, so far, the best film I've seen this year.