T2 Trainspotting

It's been 20 years since we last saw four freewheeling young junkies from Edinburgh spiral through a series of adventures that left their friendship in tatters. And now the entire cast is back, as are director Danny Boyle, writer John Hodge and novelist Irvine Welsh. Since the characters have aged into middle-aged men now, the film has a very different kind of energy to it, mixing the visceral imagery with a knowing sense of nostalgia. And once again, it has a lot to say about the state of the world.

It's been two decades since Renton (Ewan McGregor) betrayed his mates. He's living in Amsterdam when a health scare forces him to think about heading back to Scotland to face the music. Spud (Ewen Bremner) hasn't held a grudge for one very good reason, but he's still a junkie and has been alienated from his wife (Shirley Henderson) and son. Simon (Jonny Lee Miller), aka Sick Boy, is furious but soon gets over it as he realises that maybe Renton can help him and his hooker cohort Veronika (Anjela Nedyalkova) finally open a brothel. On the other hand, the hotheaded Begbie (Robert Carlyle) won't be quite so forgiving. He has just escaped from prison, and his first thought is how to get even with Renton.

Hodge's script digs into the idea that these men have seen their hopes and dreams fade away, even though there's still a glimmer of desire left. And Boyle directs the film with the same spark of energy, spiralling through colourful cutaways, hilarious sight gags, wacky antics and pulsing music. It's an intriguingly grown-up variation on the first movie, and it still engulfs the audience with its sights, sounds and emotions. These are men who believe that their wasted youth has led them into an equally wasted adulthood. And there isn't much time left to make something of themselves.

These yearning reminiscences and still-pungent hopes are powerfully played by the cast. McGregor and Miller once again anchor the film in the tight friendship between Renton and Simon, while Bremner hovers soulfully on the story's edges and Carlyle continually threatens to bring everything crashing down. The actors easily rekindle their comical criminality and hapless chemistry, even as they wallow in their memories. Highlights include an improvised song in a political clubhouse and a return to Renton's Choose Life rant that's viciously exhilarating. But where the story moves us is in its use of father-son relationships that explore the changing nature of the world. This adds some properly involving drama that leaves us hoping we haven't seen the last of these guys.

Watch the trailer for T2 Trainspotting: