T2 Trainspotting

You don't have to be gloating over a wasted generation to embrace T2 Trainspotting, a confident, quirky comedy-drama that skillfully alternates bangs and whimpers.

The first Trainspotting was about heroin. The second is about another dangerously addictive drug: Nostalgia.

A film nowhere near as revelatory as the original, but in some ways more satisfying, the proper closing of a tale that had been left open-ended.

Improbably, the film vaults over most pitfalls of long-threatened sequels while evolving the delicately crafted world in the original. It's a more sober, mature film, but no less entertaining or provocative.

T2 Trainspotting is a fine reunion, and while the punk portion might not be as raucous as it once was, that doesn't mean these four men have forgotten how to rock one tiny little bit.

With a pulsing soundtrack and an ending scene that cleverly ties the whole thing back to the first picture, T2 is a sequel that is at least the equal of the revered original.

Being older, but not necessarily wiser, has thinned a noticeable amount of the ferocity of the biting social commentary and dark humor that spills out of Welsh’s characters and Hodge’s screenplay.

Boyle's sequel reconnects with its characters two decades later and treats them with a refreshing dose of the humanity and self-reflectivity that come with age.

Like the excellent original, this worthy sequel is similarly distinguished by some memorable set-pieces, superb dialogue, and smashing performances.

A stellar sequel because it's not high on its own past.