20 years after betraying his friends and running off with (almost) all the money from a scam, Mark Renton is back in Edinburgh. It is his first time back since the events that split him, Spud and Simon apart. He looks up Spud and Simon but their lives are hardly much better than when he last saw them. Spud, after getting his life together, has seen it all unravel, to the point that he is suicidal. Simon is running his father's loss-making pub, in between bouts of blackmail. Meanwhile, the fourth person in their caper of 20 years' ago, the psychotically intense Begbie, is in jail. He has no intention of staying incarcerated and revenge is foremost on his mind...

The original Trainspotting was brilliant. Funny, gritty and harrowing it dealt with the issue of drug addiction in a suffocatingly intense yet humorous way. It wasn't just about drug addiction but friendship and, ultimately, about a crime caper and betrayal.

Directed by Danny Boyle, who directed Trainspotting 1, Trainspotting 2 doesn't have the grimness of the first movie, as the drug addiction side is hardly a factor. For me, that is what made Trainspotting 1 a masterpiece, the way it covered drug addiction in a realistic yet humorous manner. T2 is more about friendship and the after-effects of T1's betrayal, resulting it being more of an action-revenge sort of movie.

Plot is good, though there are some contrivances and inconsistencies. Quite emotional at times too, as we see some loops from T1 closed, friends reunited and 40-somethings taking stock of their lives.

Humour-wise, T2 is great, and as good as, if not better than, T1. Some very funny scenes and dialogue.

Not essential that you've watched T1 to follow and enjoy T2, as there are enough flashbacks and other clues to fill you in on what happened in T1. However, watching T1 before T2 certainly would help the experience. There are plenty of side-references and subtle nods to T1 and these enhance the enjoyment of T2.

Overall, a great movie, though not in the same league as Trainspotting 1. Very funny at times, with a good plot and some interesting themes.

I was never a huge fan of the original TRAINSPOTTING - I find REQUIEM FOR A DREAM to be a much better anti-drug movie - so I wasn't too fussed about this sequel either. As expected, it's another case of style, style, style over very little in the way of real substance. A series of random vignettes play out depicting the sad characters of the original some 20 years later, with lots of lazy direction in which music is used to evoke emotion rather than strong writing (the soundtrack is admittedly good, but that's beside the point). The script is littered with profanity but no depth, and the actors get little to do, although I did enjoy seeing Robert Carlyle as the hard man again. It's not a bad film, but there's little to think about or discuss afterwards.

It's been 20 years. Mark 'Rent Boy' Renton (Ewan McGregor) returns from Amsterdam to find Edinburgh changed. He reconnects with Daniel 'Spud' Murphy (Ewen Bremner) and Simon 'Sick Boy' Williamson (Jonny Lee Miller) after giving them £4000 to make up for his betrayal. Simon has been pimping out his girlfriend Veronika and blackmailing her clients. When a client goes to the police, the guys seek help from former girlfriend Diane Coulston (Kelly Macdonald) who is now a solicitor. Spud has been struggling with heroine and daylight savings time. Meanwhile, Franco Begbie (Robert Carlyle) has been in prison all this time. He escapes and when he runs into Rent Boy, he intends to get his revenge.

There is an exuberant energy to Danny Boyle's original. The actors were so young and everything heightened. It is a desperate, devastating, memorable, and fun journey. There are unforgettable scenes. This one is an echo of that past. An echo can still be compelling. Many of the characters are back and we get a nice visit with them. They renew their relationships. It just doesn't have the same power. It is a few steps down. While the characters return, the sense of place and time is disconnected. In a way, the characters are out of place and time. The world has passed them by and they are collapsing on themselves. It's sad and fitting. They are fading and so is this sequel. It's definitely not as shocking or groundbreaking anymore.