Trainspotting's long-awaited sequel T2 has won over most critics' hearts, but expectations were far from great.

Twenty years after the hit release of its 1996 original, the film reunites director Danny Boyle with the original cast for a loose adaptation of Irvine Welsh's novel Porno.

The story follows the adventures of Sick Boy, Spud and Begbie as they reunite with their old friend Mark Renton, who betrayed them at the end of the first instalment.

Scottish actor Ewan McGregor, who plays the main character, has been praised for his "fine comic timing" by The Telegraph's Robbie Collin.

Image: The film reunites McGregor, Miller, Bremner and Carlyle

The critic gives the movie three stars, saying there was "no chance of its successor matching that legacy, but it

won't tarnish it either".


"Though the film feeds on its forerunner, it's worthwhile on its own terms," he adds.

The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw was kinder, giving the film four stars and reminding readers that "reuniting

the cast of Trainspotting for a new adventure 21 years on could have gone badly."

"Boyle and his four musketeers give it just the right frantic, jaded energy and manic anxiety," he adds.

Watch the trailer for T2: Trainspotting

"This sequel was a high-wire act, but Boyle has made it to the other side".

Geoffrey Macnab of The Independent, says: "What's so impressive about T2 is how skilfully it manages to stay true to the spirit of the original while acknowledging just how much has changed in the intervening years."

While die-hard fans of the original film might have been waiting for the sequel for several years, the overall mood when Boyle announced a return was of wariness.

Most critics thought it was a dangerous gamble, following the British director's past box office flops.

Image: Scottish actor Robert Carlyle reprises his role as Francis 'Franco' Begbie

"Bravely Boyle has made a mostly sombre film about how 40something lives work out and it's well observed and well-acted," says Empire's Ian Freer.

"Yet is this what you want from a Trainspotting film?," he asks.

The Scotsman's Alistair Harkness was more critical, saying that "the best that can be said about the new film is that it hasn't completely tarnished the original".

T2: Trainspotting opens in UK cinemas 27 January.