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Trainspotting 2 (2017)
I was reluctant to watch this film as the original 'Trainspotting' (1996) was released smack back in the middle of my adolescence and was one of the stand out films from that time in my life. I remember at the time thinking that it was a hard watch in terms of heroin addiction but also struck a chord in me as a young man about friendship, coming of age and all that went with it.
It was a film that affected me, and as I said a lot of it resonated with me, but i have never been able to say that I enjoyed it. The soundtrack, the acting, the subject matter and as I have mentioned the things that spoke to me as a young man from a working class background, elevated it to cult status for me and many others.
I was therefore hesitant about the sequel and had initially planned not to see it through the fear of it tainting the original. After a few friends had watched it and all spoke of it positively, I finally went to see it today.
The best thing about this film for me is that it did not taint or tarnish my memories of the original as poor sequels so often do.
The film is set 20 years after the original and most of the main characters cross paths again.
A lot of the film is just a nostalgia trip and a tribute to the original, and that is not a bad thing. It was like 'Trainspotting' had sent us a postcard to let us know what it is up to.
The acting was good and the characters came back to life, especially from Robert Carlyle (Begbie).
The film served as a pleasant trip down memory lane, but all it really achieved is helping me realise that it is too long since I watched the original. I will be doing that this weekend.
The best parts of the film are the flashbacks and references to the original and the story line in this film is actually quite weak.
It was nice to see what the characters were up to 20 years later, although part of me wishes that they hadn't bothered and just left it to me to draw my own conclusions.
As a stand alone film it really isn't anything as the majority of the content is looking back.
There was some relief that in making this, they hadn't messed it up and ruined the legacy, However I think that in another 20 years time, people will still be talking about the original film rather than this one.
Trainspotting 2 (2017)
I was reluctant to watch this film as the original 'Trainspotting' (1996) was released smack back in the middle of my adolescence and was one of the stand out films from that time in my life. I remember at the time thinking that it was a hard watch in terms of heroin addiction but also struck a chord in me as a young man about friendship, coming of age and all that went with it.
It was a film that affected me, and as I said a lot of it resonated with me, but i have never been able to say that I enjoyed it. The soundtrack, the acting, the subject matter and as I have mentioned the things that spoke to me as a young man from a working class background, elevated it to cult status for me and many others.
I was therefore hesitant about the sequel and had initially planned not to see it through the fear of it tainting the original. After a few friends had watched it and all spoke of it positively, I finally went to see it today.
The best thing about this film for me is that it did not taint or tarnish my memories of the original as poor sequels so often do.
The film is set 20 years after the original and most of the main characters cross paths again.
A lot of the film is just a nostalgia trip and a tribute to the original, and that is not a bad thing. It was like 'Trainspotting' had sent us a postcard to let us know what it is up to.
The acting was good and the characters came back to life, especially from Robert Carlyle (Begbie).
The film served as a pleasant trip down memory lane, but all it really achieved is helping me realise that it is too long since I watched the original. I will be doing that this weekend.
The best parts of the film are the flashbacks and references to the original and the story line in this film is actually quite weak.
It was nice to see what the characters were up to 20 years later, although part of me wishes that they hadn't bothered and just left it to me to draw my own conclusions.
As a stand alone film it really isn't anything as the majority of the content is looking back.
There was some relief that in making this, they hadn't messed it up and ruined the legacy, However I think that in another 20 years time, people will still be talking about the original film rather than this one.