Glimmerubro It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

Voxitype Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Derrick Gibbons An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Juana what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

The Movie Diorama Having only watch the original for the first time this year, it's safe to say I'm not part of the cult following. Having said that, I really enjoyed it for its bold and provocative portrayal of drug consumption. The characters were memorable, direction solid, hilarious moments...fortunately the sequel maintains that. Twenty years on after the betrayal in the first film, Renton returns back to Edinburgh where Sick Boy, Spud and a revenge driven Begbie wait for him. Wanting to start a business, replenish lost friendships and relive the past. Trainspotting 2 really does depend on nostalgic flashbacks, that is both a positive and a criticism. To start with though, Danny Boyle yet again directs an entertaining flick. A big fan of his directing, his contemporary camera technique (tilted angles, freeze frame transitions etc.) really suits the urban style that he is attempting to convey. A zany mixture between a Hollywood film and a British TV show, yet it works. Fortunately, he retained the same aesthetics from the first film. Flashy onscreen effects, zoomed in shots of drugs to intensify the scene and a dance/trance soundtrack. Underworld's "Born Slippy" is embedded within the soundtrack to highlight the nostalgia even more. The characters are as memorable as ever. Renton is filled with regret, Sick Boy is fuelled by hatred, Begbie just wants revenge and Spud...well he is just loveable. Incomprehensible, but loveable. All four leads were consistently great and found their performances to be entrancing. Why then, when the credits rolled, did I feel slightly underwhelmed? The constant hold and embrace of nostalgia deters from the current story. Clearly harking back to a more memorable and prolific film in an attempt to enhance this sequel, but if anything it just made me want to watch its predecessor again. Flashbacks are fine, but when it is constant it just feels jarring and tedious. This certainly isn't as hard hitting and controversial either, its tame approach may put people off.

benkitching13 7.5 out of 10 for clarification. Despite being inferior to the magnificent original, T2 doesn't fall short of the same level of quality by a horrific margin. In fact, T2 is accomplished in a number of areas. Fr example, it hosts incredible performances, respectable cinematography and a handful of memorable scenes.It's just a colossal shame that T2 fails to reach the virtually inscrutable level of excellently crafted dialogue and accompanying soundtrack of the original. Similarly, none of the standout scenes in T2 match the highest quality scenes of the original. Despite it's flaws, T2 is a respectable sequel that disappointed me to a lower standard than I anticipated.

andrewrmiddleton Don't be under any doubt that T2 is very underrated as a standalone piece of work. It's a beautifully and inventively shot rush of adrenalin.Robert Carlyle gives another masterful performance as the psychotic, yet ultimately more self-aware, Begbie. Ewan Bremner is also excellent in re-creating the hapless and hilarious Spud. What the movie does extremely well is stay true to and connect with the original, but in a mature and non-convoluted way. Just like the original it opens at a frenetic pace, with Renton sprinting and a high energy track blasting in the background. But this time it's on a treadmill in Amsterdam, to the incessant pounding of the addictive Shotgun Mouthwash. We instantly know and feel that this is the contemporary part of the same universe.If you're familiar with Scotland, you'll also know the significance of the Eastern European greeters at the airport, Sick Boy's Bulgarian prostitute girlfriend, and Renton riding the tram through Haymarket into Edinburgh. Renton is experiencing the changes to the country, for better or worse, since he left 20 years ago.A various points throughout the movie, we flash back to connecting moments from the original, and even to connecting moments from the distant past that we've never seen before but somehow feel we have. Nostalgia is a significant part of the movie, but not in a way which feels forced or tacky. It's about connection to the past, and the characters self-assessing the courses of their lives.Obviously based on the novels Trainspotting and Porno, there isn't a standard movie plot structure. And why should there be? In my view, this would have detracted from what the movie is - a window into the current lives of the characters we know and love, and a sharing with them of their analysis of the courses their lives have taken over the past 20 years and of their insecurities about their legacies.There's a depth and artistry to this movie which would be missed by the ordinary movie-goer. But that's fine. Most people seem to be satisfied with Star Wars rehashes.

Mike Page Having just finished T2 I can pronounce it a worthy successor. I first read the book (which I thought fairly dark) as a young man in the 90s then saw the movie and thought it relatively lighthearted and funny. T2 is in the same vein and hits all its marks just as Mark says. The updated "Choose Life" monologue is excoriatingly on-point. The film is worthy in its story, its visuals, but particularly in its perspective. It allows the viewer to reflect on early choices made in the heat of the moment, and on the importance of "character". All the characters grow up a little bit, but not as much as you'd hope. Spud is still a loser but he is the childlike heart of the story to Renton's intelligent yet impulsive grownup. Diane is also worthy of mention, remaining an aloof and cool super-ego, the person Renton wishes he could be. In the Netflix age this could easily have been spun out to a dozen hours (which would have eclipsed the original movie) but does well to tell its story in the alloted time.Finally: read the books.