Monday 6 February 2017

T2 Trainspotting (5/5, Very Good)

The junkies from the 1990s are back but in a much more fast-paced digital world where the insignificance of life is stronger and the lust for life predominates with nostalgia.






"Choose life, choose a career, choose a family...". Those were the first words of one of the most influential British films ever made back in 1996. Director Danny Boyle and its cast have done a long way ever since, and the stakes due to the high expectations were critical. Sequels are rarely as good as their predecessor so we went to the dark room with a certain dose of anxiety and fear. However, T2 Trainspotting turned out to be a very good surprise. T2 Trainspotting achieved what The Godfather II did: a sequel without being a sequel. A new story strongly linked to the first one but with a solid scenario that allows you to see it as a stand-alone film.

T2 Trainspotting is brilliant as it explores the deep sense of nostalgia that exists today. If Trainspotting was about a group of junkies in the booming glory of Britain in the 1990s, then its sequel is about is the same characters in the booming decade of nostalgia and pessimism. "Choose zero-hour contracts, choose Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and hope that someone somewhere cares and choose watching history repeat itself" is what Mark Renton (brillianty portrayed by McGregor) chooses to say when thinking about his time. It is a decade of loneliness, strong individualism and exhibitionism.  "Choose life" does not hold the same meaning as it had back in 1996. The only thing that persists is addiction. Be addicted to life, but how can you be addicted when the world is full of crap? 







Many things can be said from this film but we assure you that it will be a great ride, with dark and dramatic sequences along with the comic elements that made Trainspotting famous. It is wonderful to see all the cast back to the screen as they clearly believed in Danny Boyle's vision for T2 Trainspotting. The soundtrack is brilliant, appealing to the classic artists from the past ( Iggy Pop, Blondie) but also to the current ones (Young and Fathers). The music, as well as the photography, will make several references to the first movie which is why we highly recommend to see the first film before this one. 

Let yourself go into nostalgia because this is what our time is all about. The glory from the 1990s faded away and we are constantly looking for a new cultural identity. The promises of a modern world were simply capitalistic lies to make us become addicted to ideas of wealth, happiness and love. T2 Trainspotting smashes them further and it such a delight to finally have a film that not only talks about it, but also makes you think about what you want to choose for your life. 


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