T2 TRAINSPOTTING

T2 TRAINSPOTTING

Danny Boyle is one of those storytellers who has a knack for bringing out the scumbag in everyone. Twenty years ago he gave us a good look at the underbelly of the underbelly with his cult classic "Trainspotting". Then he took us on a zombie apocalypse in "28 Days Later", then won an Oscar with "Slumdog Millionaire" and last showed the piece-o-crap side of the Apple Computer founder in "Steve Jobs."

He returns to his roots with the long awaited (at least by some) sequel to "Trainspotting", picking up twenty years later with the same blocks who we came to like and loathe in the original. The boys - Renton (Ewan McGregor), Spud (Ewen Bremmer), Simon "Sick Boy" (Jonny Lee Miller) and Begbie (Robert Carlyle) - are older but still screwed up, but in slightly different ways.

Renton, after double crossing his buddies (except Sick Boy) is still living in exile from Edinburgh in Amsterdam and is now mostly straight; he's sober and an accountant if you can imagine that. But the story revolves on his nutty idea to return to his old stomping grounds where his old totally unstable buddy Begbie has escaped prison and is waiting to kill is backstabbing mate.

Spud is no longer a dope fiend (heroine addict), he now is getting wasted on cocaine instead. Of the four, he is the worst off - totally messed up doing blackmail deals in porn. Spud has hooked up with a babe named Veronika and is scheming to turn their seedy bar into a high class bordello by trading in cocaine.

That leaves the crazy Begbie who is even more psychotic than he was in the first. He has escaped prison and is on an often humorous but nevertheless hell-bent mission to catch up with Renton to kill him.

It is a fairly easy story of atonement and revenge, less soaked in drugs as dusted with it. But the bottom line is the old saying: You can never go home again. The tension remains high as you get reacquainted with these four screwed up Scots as they still live on the fringe of society.

Boyle adds tons of references to the original with music from the era and blatant updated replays of memorable scenes from "Trainspotting". The four leads pick up right where they left off, revisiting their old characters perfectly and bringing Irvine Welsh's characters back to life. John Hodges adaptation is superb.

If there is one drawback is that anyone who didn't see the original will not get most of the film, the references to the original are strictly for fans of the original. If you haven't seen it, I recommend renting it first, before see this film.

"T2 Trainspotting" is a fabulous sequel that does a great job of tying in the old with the new. Danny Boyle once again demonstrates his mastery of highlighting the scum in everyone. -- GEOFF BURTON

GEOFF BURTON

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