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There's a tremendous trepidation in returning to the Edinburgh underworld of Trainspotting twenty years after the intoxicating original.

How could this long fermenting sequel compete with the defining film of the Britpop era? It offered a startlingly stark vision of modern Scotland, a famously ferocious soundtrack and career highs from the actors.

I shouldn't have worried. Having allowed the material to seethe and stew, director Danny Boyle cooks up another tremendous cocktail of drug taking violence and prostitution.

For all the drugs consumed on screen, the strength of the chemistry between the actors is what makes this such an addictive hit of pure cinema.

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Ewan McGregor, Ewen Bremner, Jonny Lee Miller and Robert Carlyle are older, heavier, sadder but not much wiser, as Renton, Spud, Sick Boy and Begbie.

The one time youthful hedonists are now living in less than comfortable middle age. All the actors bring a maturity to their work, giving their characters a beaten, weary melancholy beneath their desperate bravado.

Noticeably missing from the advertising posters is Renton's old squeeze, Diane. And her appearance in the film played by the still gorgeous Kelly Macdonald, is sadly all too brief.

After a long absence in Amsterdam, Renton returns home to Edinburgh to find his old friends.

He has been living off the cash he robbed from his friends at the end of the first movie.

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Sweet natured Spud is once again trying to go clean and as Renton helps him, we see how their relationship is the most honest.

Sick Boy still holds a grudge and consists Renton a rival. Begbie remains as capable as ever of psychotic and provides much of the momentum for the chaos which occurs.

It is when Begbie leaves prison, Renton's life takes an unexpectedly frantic course.

Using Irving Welsh's novel Porno as a starting point, and filming in his typically high energy, visually dynamic and musically inspired style, Boyle has created an unapologetically abrasive tale of longevity, loyalty and friendship. this is a long hard look at what happens when the party stops for some but not for others.

Despite topical references to social media and zero hours contracts, T2 understands it won't capture the youthful zeitgeist the way Trainspotting did.

It drowns in large shots of nostalgia, regret and wasted lives. The sharp and funny script chooses to honour the characters by allowing them to mature disgracefully while still being sympathetic towards them.

Take a deep breath. Choose cinema. Choose first class. Choose Trainspotting 2.