T2 Trainspotting (2017)

After 20 years abroad, Mark Renton returns to Scotland and reunites with his old friends Sick Boy, Spud, and Begbie.

Director:

Danny Boyle

Writers:

John Hodge, Irvine Welsh (based on the books Porno and Trainspotting by)

Stars:

Ewan McGregor, Ewen Bremner, Jonny Lee Miller

6 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ewan McGregor	...	Renton
Logan Gillies	...	Simon (aged 9)
Ben Skelton	...	Renton (aged 9)
Aiden Haggarty	...	Spud (aged 9)
Daniel Smith	...	Begbie (aged 9)
Elijah Wolf	...	Tommy (aged 9)
Robert Carlyle	...	Begbie / Begbie's Father
Steven Robertson	...	Stoddart
Ewen Bremner	...	Spud
John Kazek	...	Tom (Rehab Group)
Shirley Henderson	...	Gail
Charlie Hardie	...	Fergus (aged 9)
Scott Aitken	...	Farmer
Gordon Kennedy	...	Tulloch
Jonny Lee Miller	...	Simon

Storyline

First there was an opportunity......then there was a betrayal. Twenty years have gone by. Much has changed but just as much remains the same. Mark Renton (Ewan McGregor) returns to the only place he can ever call home. They are waiting for him: Spud (Ewen Bremner), Sick Boy (Jonny Lee Miller), and Begbie (Robert Carlyle). Other old friends are waiting too: sorrow, loss, joy, vengeance, hatred, friendship, love, longing, fear, regret, diamorphine, self-destruction and mortal danger, they are all lined up to welcome him, ready to join the dance.

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Plot Keywords:

old friends reunited | sequel | drugs | homecoming | prostitute | 

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Taglines:

Face your past. Choose your future.

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for drug use, language throughout, strong sexual content, graphic nudity and some violence

Did You Know?

Trivia

In Sick Boy's apartment, you can see a DVD copy of 28 Days Later... (2002), which was also directed by Danny Boyle.

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Goofs

When Renton meets Simon in his pub he is playing snooker on his own. In the first shot there are only red balls and a black ball . In the next shot a yellow ball appears on the table.

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Quotes

Begbie: There's something I have to do tonight, and then I'm going away. One way or another, it'll be a long time before you see me again. So I just thought I'd come by. I just thought I'd come by and say good luck, son. That's all.
Frank Juror: Thanks, Dad.
Begbie: See, it's difficult for me, 'cause... We never had any of that when I was a boy. Not, like, hotel...
Frank Juror: Management.
Begbie: Aye, hotel fucking management, all that shit. I never has any of that. Still... World changes, eh, June? Even if we don't. So... Look after yourself, ...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

The initial final credits appear over modified scenes of tower blocks and other buildings being demolished. Once the cast credits appear, the background changes to amorphous, swirling, mainly black/ white/ grey shapes.

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Connections

References The Haunted Mansion (2003)

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Soundtracks

Whitest Boy on the Beach
As originally performed by Fat White Family
Written by Lias Saoudi, Saul Adamczewski
Produced by Saul Adamczewski
Courtesy of Without Consent / [PIAS] 2016
Licensed courtesy of Domino Publishing Co Ltd.

User Reviews

As good as it could be, but far from great

"Porno" wasn't a great Irvine Welsh book, but at least it introduced new characters and updated us on the whereabouts of the original Trainspotting crew. The "prequel" Skag Boys was to my mind much much better.

The problem is, Porno couldn't really be filmed, as it concentrates on the filming of pornography. So instead, some elements (but not many) of it have been lifted to make T2, but most of T2 is "original". It's around 5% Porno if that.

However, I'd estimate that maybe 10 minutes in total of T2 is direct samples of the first film. Sure, have a bit of it in there, but we all know that T2 is a sequel of a film famous enough to have stuck in our memories. And I felt that constant referring back was after a while unnecessary, and intrusive.

There wasn't a single scene in "T2" that could hold up to anything in the original. Not one.

Look, I'm glad I saw it, but it's not something I'd really watch again more than once. Some films are classics because they are of their time: Trainspotting; Pulp Fiction; the Big Lebowski; Withnail and I. Trying to do a sequel for any of them is going to be a pointless exercise, you could never do one that holds a candle to the original.

What Boyle and co have tried to do in "T2" could have been much worse; but it couldn't have been much better either. The past is the past, and we should leave it there.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Twitter

Country:

UK

Language:

English Bulgarian Scots

Release Date:

31 March 2017 (USA)

Also Known As:

T2 Trainspotting

Filming Locations:

Edinburgh, Scotland, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$18,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$170,575, 19 March 2017

Gross USA:

$2,402,004

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$41,681,746

Company Credits

Production Co:

Artbees, DNA Films, Decibel Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

117 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1