Trainspotting Reviews and Ratings



  • October 9, 2009
    A prolific 90's joy-ride,based on the acclaimed book of the same title,frustrating pictures but that's brutal reality.Carlyle on a surprise part,Boyle mixes fun and curiosity and the soundtrack is a blast.
  • October 1, 2009
    My favourite Danny Boyle film next to 28 Days Later. Trainspotting is one of those great films that only comes once or twice a decade. I'm into narration of disturbing yet funny situations so this film grabbed me by the balls and I loved it. Ewan McGregor owned the movie, him and...( read more) Robert Carlyle were the two strongest performers.



    The film takes place in the lives of junkies and remains authentic to the book it's based on. Scenes in Trainspotting may seem disturbing yet have a comedy feeling about them. Except one scene with a certain death.



    Soundtrack is top notch and really sets up the hilarity of most scenes. I have not seen Slumdog Millionare but I say that this is probably Danny Boyles best so far. A true classic.
  • September 21, 2009
    Renton, deeply immersed in the Edinburgh drug scene, tries to clean up and get out, despite the allure of the drugs and influence of friends.


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    first of all i watch this movie because of the review i read... what really it is. and i confused why many review like this one..! I understand why a lot of people could like this movie, it simply was not for me. I think that it resembles 'Requiem for a dream, If you're into cult classics, this is one you should consider. A very raw depiction of a life of addiction, crime..struggles to overcome...fucking awesome youth..

    trainspotting Pictures, Images and Photos


    "The worst toilet in the Scotland"




    trainspotting Pictures, Images and Photos

  • September 17, 2009
    A Brit movie with the Danny Boyle sign on it ! Great performance by Ewan McGregor !
  • September 16, 2009
    I remember at collage in the mid 90's everyone thought it was cool to be Scottish and/or a recovering drug user. Overrated but still enjoyable! Hated the book though, I thought it was a load of contrived rubbish that made no sense!
  • September 16, 2009
    A group of Scottish junkies and misfits try to make their way in 90s Britain. Trainspotting is a true zeitgeist movie, and sums up perfectly the time in which it was made. Irvine Walsh's story is well observed and full of amusing tirades against 90s society with drug references t...( read more)hat are non-judgmental, trying to show both the cheese in the mousetrap of addiction as well as its terrible consequences. Despite the grim subject matter, there are a lot of laughs to be had cleverly counterpointed with the horror and degradation that a drug habit can cause. This is the film that rightly catapulted Ewan McGregor to international stardom with Robert Carlyle deserving an honourable mention as the hateful and clearly psychotic Begby. The plot is slightly flimsy but the film has a lot of energy and although it has inevitably dated as it is such a product of its time, it's still a bit of a classic of British cinema.
  • September 11, 2009
    Review coming someday...

    98/100
  • September 9, 2009
    This was very strange but interesting.
  • September 6, 2009
    Sicko I ever watched about the rigors and rushes of Scottish-junkie life. This is one of my least Danny Boyle films that doesn't make me feel better by watching the horrid consequences of heroin use.
  • August 29, 2009
    Despues de más de diez años de haberla visto, me doy cuenta de cuan representativa para los noventa fue "La vida en el abismo". El trato ezquizofrénico e intenso de la vida de un grupo de adictos es cruda y naturalista más no por eso deja de estar estilizada a la MTV y salpicada ...( read more)del clàsico sentido del humor del reino unido (en este caso escocés). Es de esas películas en las que la historia es buena, pero es el COMO la cuentan lo que la hizo un clásico posmoderno.
  • August 25, 2009
    One of the best I've ever seen,
    so sad.
  • August 24, 2009
    I've just seen this movie, it's very popular in my country, it's very difficult to get the DVD, well, I finally bought it and I think it's a quite good movie about drug addicts but in the end, every character stays the same(addicts), some good scenes, could've been better.
  • August 23, 2009
    Thank you Robert Carlyle and Ewan McGregor for a truly enjoyable film. I'm still waiting for a baby to crawl on my cieling and wake me up out of my depersonalization high.
  • August 23, 2009
    very powerful movie loved it
  • August 21, 2009
    Stylish, brillant film from Danny Boyle that follows the lives of herion addicts. Think a british version of Pulp Fiction.
  • August 20, 2009
    Danny Boyle's film masterpiece "Trainspotting" is a vibrant jolt of life (however constantly drugged-out its characters may be) that transports the viewer into the shocking minds of low-middle-class people with the common dream of success and happiness which they think will be ob...( read more)tained by a constant intake of incredibly powerful drugs.

    "It's better than sex," the characters agree as they continuously inject their worn-out veins with the drugs, subsequently dropping almost unconsciously to the floor in a vivid and electric dream of heavenly perfection. This is what life is about: joy, ecstatic happiness and a constant state of perfection. "Drugs provide this for us", they realize, and if this is the dream every human longs for then it should justify their pilaging and plundering around Scotland to obtain it.

    The film follows a junkie (Ewan McGregor) as he alternately muses about the low state of human beings and the dificulty it is for him to live, and the utter paradise it is to consume the drugs that account for everything even remotely pleasant in his life. His best friends which include a loser yet humble and lovable junkie (Ewen Bremner), a pretty boy/Sean Connery know-it-all with a high image of himself (Jonny Lee Miller) and a drug-hater violent psycho (Robert Carlyle) all emphatize the alternately revered and reviled state drugs induce them into.

    Our principal character, the McGregor junkie, dreams of someday actually managing to quit drugs and getting himself a nice lifestyle like 'normal people' while recognizing and embracing the wicked jerk he actually is. The film follows him in a hilariously amusing odyssey into 'normalcy' and the missteps he encounters that are triggered by his friends' reapearance in his life.

    The plot of the film is very good, as a matter of fact, but what really makes this movie an absolute masterpiece is the artistry behind its every area. The music is psychodelically absorbing, the editing is simply perfect, and the cinematography is, well, electrically vibrant, hysterical, spot-on and artistic. The screenwriting follows no ordinary pattern, but involves images, music and colour to exude the feeling of the movie.

    It's a perfect comedy, really. It's that kind of spectacular entertainment that awakens your sensibilites and makes you cackle in delight at the sheer audacity that's unraveling before your very eyes. I can't recommend it enough.

    Rating: 4 stars out of 4!!
  • August 9, 2009
    best british film ever!
  • August 7, 2009
    goddamnit, did i need subtitles. it was aight to say the most.
  • August 3, 2009
    puedes ser el demadre que quieras al final todos quieren una estupida casa un maldito carro, una ujer idiota o un hombre idiota etc.
  • August 2, 2009
    Great portrait of a British sub-culture. Very dope I'd say.
  • August 2, 2009
    One of my favorites. A grat work of Danny Boyle... Dynamic, full of hormones and adrenaline. Amazing
  • July 31, 2009
    Movie of the 90's. The characters, the music, the philosophy.
  • July 31, 2009
    Fresh from their success with "Shallow Grave", Danny Boyle and Ewan McGregor turned to Irvine Welsh's novel about addicts in Edinburgh and did a corker of a job. John Hodge's script is shocking, funny, terrifying and heartbreaking, creating the junkie's "Junkie" movie' where even...( read more) the minor characters light up the screen. Ewan Bremner as the hopelessly stupid "Spud" gets the funniest moments, while Robert Carlyle's psychotic "Begbie" is terrifying. For a film with such horrifying and explicit scenes of drug-use and cold-turkey, it has a surprisingly upbeat ending and comes with a fantastic Brit-pop soundtrack!
  • July 30, 2009
    I could never stop liking this movie....saw it again on teh big screen the crowd was nothing by mature early-mid 30's looking..I guess I fall in that category..now after 14 yrs I still love it and still makes me laugh....Boyle did a awesome job directing Trainspotting...choose L...( read more)ife!!!!

    the trampolin for Ewan Mcgregor..Ewen Bremmer..Jonny lee Miller..Robet Carlyle was already Robert Carlyle...

    I still day dream about starting fresh in London!! :)
  • July 28, 2009
    The best movie, soundtrack, and book !
  • July 27, 2009
    didnt understand it i knew i wouldnt be able to.
  • July 26, 2009
    I loved this when I was younger but now I just cannot enjoy it. WTF
  • July 25, 2009
    Didn't really care for this one
  • July 25, 2009
    That's what Renton (Ewan McGregor) said and the thing is that he is right :
    "Choose Life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family. Choose a fucking big television, choose washing machines, cars, compact disc players and electrical tin openers. Choose good health, low chole...( read more)sterol, and dental insurance. Choose fixed interest mortgage repayments. Choose a starter home. Choose your friends. Choose leisurewear and matching luggage. Choose your future. Choose life... But why would I want to do a thing like that? I chose not to choose life. I chose somethin' else. And the reasons? There are no reasons."
    Ordinary people just do all those stuff, he stays to the side and he realises how pathetic we all are.Despite the heroin and all the depressing feelings, he is right and that's the reason why everybody admits that this movie is special.A cult movie which teaches a lesson of life.
  • July 23, 2009
    TRULY ON OF THE STUPIIST MOVIES I EVER SAW!!
    WHAT IS THS CRAP?
    WAS CALLED HILLARIOUS BY SOME PEOPLE, AM I MISSING SOMETHING HERE?
  • July 23, 2009
    A movie carried out in an unique way, with the main character talking to the viewer at points, which in turn adds to the interest of the movie and involves the viewer with the movie. This is the kind of movie that can capture the viewer and wrap him/her in its shocking story.
  • July 22, 2009
    funny, dirty, grosse, but great
  • July 22, 2009
    gorgeous! awesome! fantastic! one of the best movie i have ever seen, genius work
  • July 22, 2009
    Intense and illuminating, this all-time favourite film is in a class of its own, with poignant yet somewhat trippy portrayals of a group of drug addicts and their decadent lifestyles, and a dash of dry yet effective UK humour. The amazing soundtrack puts the cherry on top.
  • July 22, 2009
    This movie is amazing. I love it so much. I like the artistic view behind the eyes of a heroin addict. Perfect.
  • July 14, 2009
    Great and amazing film!!
  • July 12, 2009
    Choose life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family. Choose a fucking big television, Choose washing machines, cars, compact disc players, ...
  • July 11, 2009
    Danny Boyle has taken Irvine Welsh's classic novel, taken the best episodes from that book and given it more of a story. And the film, amazingly, does justice to the book. It's funny at times and has some of the best narration ever given to a film. But there is also shocking mome...( read more)nts in a film which shows graphic drug use and sex. The hallucinations that the characters experience are shown effectively and done convincingly on a small budget.
  • July 8, 2009
    Gran obra de Irvine Welsh, uno de los mejores escritores de Escocia. Brillante en todos los sentidos.
  • July 8, 2009
    Diverso dai soliti film sulla droga. Ewan è semplicemente fantastico, e la colonna sonora fenomenale. In più, adoro il personaggio di Diane.
  • July 6, 2009
    this movie is kinda like A Clockwork Orange(in my opinon) because the unusual camera angles, the classical music, even the club scene with the "Joloko umphetico" like clockworks orange korova milk bar. and in both movies they end up being about lifestyle choices. Alex in A Clockw...( read more)ork Orange has the choice to do good or evil. Renton in Trainspotting makes the decision to "choose life." but thats in my opinion i think that in some parts both movies are kinda the same but anways.....

    this is movie is set in Edinburgh, the it begins with a narration from Mark Renton (Ewan McGregor) as he and friend 'Spud' careen down Princes Street after shoplifting to raise cash, with security guards in pursuit. Renton states that unlike people who "choose life" (a traditional family lifestyle with children and material possessions), he and his cronies have opted out of ambitious pursuits, preferring to live in a blissful, meaningless heroin-induced stupor. We are introduced to his friends: film buff Sick Boy (Jonny Lee Miller), hanger-on Spud (Ewen Bremner), keen footballer Tommy (Kevin McKidd) and unpredictable thug Francis Begbie (Robert Carlyle). Sick Boy, obsessed with Sean Connery, is also a heroin addict, as is the goofy, innocent Spud. In contrast, Tommy and Begbie openly criticise heroin use. Tommy lives an athletic, drug-free lifestyle. Begbie does not believe in heroin, but he is (ironically) a vicious drunk, eager to pick fights for the mere thrill of instigating physical altercations. This point is clearly illustrated when Begbie is seen casually throwing his pint glass off a bar balcony, injuring a woman and causing a large-scale pub brawl.

    Sick Boy and Renton decide to quit heroin, but struggle with temptation. They join Tommy, Begbie and Spud in a dance club where all five men are in pursuit of sex. The other three men have more complicated nights. After complaining about his relationship problems to his mates, Tommy takes Lizzie home until they discovered that their own tape was missing and instead, there was a football tape. Renton had previously stolen their personal tape in the film while claiming to borrow the football video. Tommy believes he returned it to the video rental store accidentally - a point of contention with Lizzie that later leads to the end of their relationship. Spud drinks too much alcohol, as he's in a temporary abstinent relationship with his girlfriend, Gail. That night when Gail tries to have sex, Spud passes out and defecates on her bed. Renton flirts with a young girl named Dianne (Kelly Macdonald), who quickly dissects his bad chat-up lines, but takes him home anyway. and Renton is forced to sleep on a couch outside her bedroom and discovers the next morning that he is actually at her parents' house and that she is under the age of sexual consent. He tries to end their relationship, but she blackmails him into staying in contact lest she call the police and inform them of their one-night stand.

    With their quest to be sober not as thrilling as hoped, Sick Boy, Spud and Renton decide to get back on heroin. The film shows a montage of drug taking and dirty dealings, while Renton narrates that he and his mates tried all drugs available to them. Tommy is dumped by Lizzie and looks for solace in heroin like his mates, having been told it's "the ultimate hit... better than sex." Renton's life of stealing and drugs continues, but quickly takes many turns for the worse - beginning with the screaming of Allison at their flat. The group discovers Allison's baby daughter, Dawn, has died. The cause of death is neglect while they were all present: an infant's distorted wails play over the preceding drug montage. All are shocked and feel terrible - Sick Boy, the father, most of all. A short time later, Renton and Spud are caught stealing from a department store and Spud goes to jail but Renton avoids incarceration by enlisting in a Drug Interventions Programme where he is supplied with the heroin substitute methadone.

    Even though his journey to sobriety begins with much love from his parents and mates (such as Sick Boy and Begbie), within hours Renton is back at the flat of his dealer - named "Mother Superior" for "the length of his habit" - and orders more heroin. Renton overdoses on the heroin and is dragged by "Mother Superior" and a taxi driver to the hospital, where nurses save his life. Seeing no other option, Renton's parents lock him in his own room to beat the addiction cold turkey. He has several hallucinations, including Spud in jail, a now drug addicted (and possibly HIV infected) Tommy, and Dawn, Allison's dead baby, crawling toward him on the ceiling, framed by a bizarre, dreamed or imagined TV gameshow in which host Dale Winton asks the contestants, who are Renton's mother and father, "Is he guilty... or not guilty?" The gameshow hints that Renton is free of AIDS, but his friend Tommy is not so lucky.

    Clean of heroin, Renton feels no purpose in life and decides to move to London and start a job as a property letting agent. Renton continues his sobriety while enjoying the vibrancy of London and saving up money on the side. His happiness is again short-lived, however, as Begbie arrives at his London flat seeking a hiding place from the police for armed robbery. Sick Boy also shows up and once again, Renton is frustrated that he cannot turn his "mates" away. As things are boiling over in the small space, the three are told of Tommy's death from toxoplasmosis back in Scotland. They return home and meet Spud, who is now out of jail and also sober.

    Following Tommy's funeral, Sick Boy suggests a large and dangerous opportunity for them; the chance to buy two kilos of heroin for $4000 and sell it for up to $20,000. Begbie demands that Renton put up much of the money, having seen Renton's bank statements. Though he is wary about the deal, Renton agrees. The foursome meet a professional heroin dealer and sell him the heroin for $16,000, leading to an afternoon celebration between all four mates in a pub. However, Begbie draws a knife on a customer in the pub and beats him severely while accidentally slicing Spud's hand open. Renton has already been thinking about stealing all the money for himself. As Begbie stands over the beaten man and demands a cigarette to come down from his "high", Renton apparently resolves that he will steal the money from his mates, whom he has come to understand are not his mates at all, with the exception of Spud.

    Early the next morning after the sun has come up Renton pulls the bag of money away from a sleeping Begbie. Renton looks at Spud, who is awake and has seen everything but he does not wake the others. Renton leaves and vows to live the stable, middle class life he described at the beginning of the film. When Begbie awakes he is furious and begins to destroy the room. The last time Begbie is seen, he is pulling a knife from his pocket as the police bang on the door. Spud later finds $2000 left for him by Renton in a locker.
  • July 6, 2009
    Awesome movie, great accents and some funny scenes.
  • July 4, 2009
    Arrghh, I'm never able to fully finish this movie..
  • July 2, 2009
    Wicked film! great acting!!!

Summary


Trainspotting Summary