After a 3 year break its time to re-launch the blog and what better way than going full circle to one of the movies that first made me really appreciate cinema as a medium of story telling unlike no other and T2 completely solidifies my love for the art.
T2 takes place 20 years after the original movie ended and before the full opening credits you get a quick run down of events for Renton, Sick-Boy, Begbie and Spud all following immediately on from Renton's betrayal with the £20k he stole after the drug deal that ended the first movie.
No spoilers from me on this bit but its good to see how each have dealt with the fallout of that night.
Its hard to not speak highly of the way the 2nd movie seemingly brings the audience straight back into the fray and even if you haven't seen Trainspotting for 20 years - the way the movies connect make it easy to recall events and well placed flashbacks further assist in remembering the story links for each character as you literally re-live the original movie step by step. You HAVE to watch the original to fully enjoy T2 - so much of the nostalgia will be lost if you go into this cold and seeing as C4 / Film4 have been playing it quite regularly right no - there's no excuse.
Having watched all of the lead cast mature in different roles over the years it was amazing how easily they all fell back into character. McGregor was immediately Renton all over again - the accents (not too hard I suppose) but the look, the clothing - very much a mirror image of his younger self however for me, having watched Elementary for a few years - seeing Johnny Lee-Miller revert back into Simon with the hair - the accent - the general charismatic approach (even with James Bond references still present) was brilliant.
One of my favourite scenes was the pair of them having a boozy time reminiscing about the 90's - all to the total confusion of Sick-Boys 'friend' Veronica who just laughs along at the boyish charm and bromance being rediscovered by the long time friends after such a long break.
There are a lot of references that go back even further than the original - you hear how Renton and Begbie met, how Sick-Boy and Renton saved up for their first hit and how other characters not in the main group have also developed such as Mikey Forrester, Diane and Renton's Dad.
For me, it was all about the history - there is a great scene where (old) Spud finds himself back on the road from the original opening titles (the chase where Renton hits the car and laughs) and has a moment of reminisce as a very subtle, slowed down version of 'Lust for Life' kicks in - albeit cut short but for the real nostalgia you have to wait until the very last scene!
This was a beautiful movie - one filled with flashbacks and in my mind, every single story line opened in the original gets complete closure which is totally satisfying and as a duo of films, these two compliment each other like salt and pepper. I couldn't think of a better way to close a 20 year story who, for a 20 year old at the time - and a 40 year old now, completely appreciate as not only a change in the times but also as a tale of maturity. It was my coming of age movie, one that I connected with and to see it finally finished was awesome.
