2 TRAINSPOTTING

Twenty years have elapsed since we saw Renton walking into the sunset with drug money he has stolen from Begbie and Sick Boy.  And unsurprisingly it is Renton who in the intervening years had made the best go of leading a normal life.  He has been living in Amsterdam, got married, and has held down an accountancy-type job.

But now his wife is divorcing him and he is about to lose his job, so he is back in town to look up his old mates, just in time in fact to stop Spud killing himself.

Spud has tried and failed to get off drugs, and as a result he is estranged from Gail and his son Fergus, and he has just about reached the end of the line.

Likewise Sick Boy has a wife and child in London he never sees, so he now has the crazy idea of setting up a brothel to be run by a young Bulgarian woman, Veronika, whom he is in a very casual relationship with.

Meanwhile Begbie has just escaped from prison, and still has the old anger management problems, so what his reaction will be if and when he catches up with Renton is a ticking time bomb throughout the story.

Insofar as there is a plot it concerns Renton and Sick Boy renewing their old friendship (after a rocky start) and trying to make a go of the brothel idea.  There's a funny scene in which they apply for an EU grant.  

Of course there's plenty of dark humour scattered throughout and some call backs to the first film as well as the characters reminiscing about things we didn't get to see then.  Kelly Macdonald makes a nice cameo appearance, Diane now being a successful lawyer.  Her parting remark to Renton, that Veronika is too old for him, made me laugh, coming from her of all people.

On the debit side of the ledger so to speak, there's also a scene between Renton and Sick Boy where they acknowledge the damage done to people close to them back in the day due to their addiction.

And there's a terrific scene between Renton and Veronika in a restaurant where he gets to vent his frustration with the emptiness of what passes for normie life.

It builds to a satisfyingly violent climax in which Begbie tries to kill Renton (he's not the forgiving type) before being returned to prison.  This is after a touching scene with his wife and son in which he acknowledges his failures as a husband and father, so even Begbie has the capacity to change or at least achieve some self-awareness.

Renton ends up back in his old bedroom, Veronika back in Bulgaria with the EU money, and Sick Boy back to square one.  So fittingly, given that he's never tried to hurt anyone, it's Spud who comes out the best, with a real chance to make a go of life, which I found very pleasing.  All of the four main actors are excellent but it is Ewen Bremner who is the real star for me.  

The soundtrack is of course great, and Danny Boyle directs with a sure touch.  The film is less frenetic than the first, as befits older characters, which gives them more chance to breathe.  There are some lovely visual touches as well.

A sequel well worth the wait.