‘T2 Trainspotting’: The Early Reviews

http://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/26/movies/t2-trainspotting-reviews.html

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LONDON — Twenty-one years after the movie “Trainspotting” gave the world a glimpse into Edinburgh’s seedy, heroin-filled underbelly, the franchise is back on the map with “T2 Trainspotting.” Directed, like the original, by Danny Boyle, and starring several members of the original cast, “T2” is getting a wide release in Britain this week before being rolled out across Europe. It reaches the United States on March 17.

The sequel checks in with the unmoored but largely lovable characters from the first movie as they face middle age. Ewan McGregor is back as the lead character, Renton, perhaps best remembered for his visit in the first film to the “Worst Toilet in Scotland.” Robert Carlyle appears as Begbie, who starts brawls with almost anyone who crosses his path; Ewen Bremner returns as the dimwitted Spud, who, in the first movie, has a memorable job interview while high on speed; and Jonny Lee Miller is back as Sick Boy, now known as Simon.

Here’s a roundup of the early reviews.

Let’s start with the Scottish papers. The Glasgow-based Herald gave the movie among the best reviews of any publication:

The Scotsman was a little less appreciative. Calling into question the cultural impact of the original movie, the critic Alistair Harkness said that crucial moments in the sequel felt forced:

Elsewhere in Britain, in The Times of London, Kate Muir praised the sequel’s enduring addled energy and said there was something brooding in the latest installment:

The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw said the movie stacked up favorably against the original and said that “T2” took a powerful and darkly funny look at the perils of aging, with a different kind of shock factor from the original.

The Independent was also enthusiastic. In a five-star review, Geoffrey Macnab wrote:

A BBC critic, Nicholas Barber, had a more mixed reaction, and proffered, like some others, that the movie’s nostalgia bordered on the treacly.

Some American publications have weighed in as well. The Hollywood Reporter had a mixed take on the movie. Its reviewer, Neil Young, said the movie eventually descended into “schmaltz,” and, like some other critics, he argued that the female characters seemed like an afterthought:

Writing for The Wrap, Jason Solomons said that the movie “doesn’t feel wiser, just wearier” than its predecessor. He objected in particular to the fact that the new movie did not appear to tap into the mood of the moment, as the original did.