Trainspotting Reviews and Ratings


  • stefany2121
    August 24, 2009
    stefany2121
    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.
  • NuditysShiver
    August 23, 2009
    NuditysShiver
    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.
  • masovskyy25
    August 23, 2009
    masovskyy25
    very powerful movie loved it
  • filmfanatic2009999
    August 21, 2009
    filmfanatic2009999
    Stylish, brillant film from Danny Boyle that follows the lives of herion addicts. Think a british version of Pulp Fiction.
  • marioehrler
    August 20, 2009
    marioehrler
    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!!
  • weirdchris
    August 9, 2009
    weirdchris
    best british film ever!
  • brocksssssnyder
    August 7, 2009
    brocksssssnyder
    goddamnit, did i need subtitles. it was aight to say the most.
  • alondravioleta
    August 3, 2009
    alondravioleta
    puedes ser el demadre que quieras al final todos quieren una estupida casa un maldito carro, una ujer idiota o un hombre idiota etc.
  • petrushkam2003
    August 2, 2009
    petrushkam2003
    Great portrait of a British sub-culture. Very dope I'd say.
  • tonas88
    August 2, 2009
    tonas88
    One of my favorites. A grat work of Danny Boyle... Dynamic, full of hormones and adrenaline. Amazing
  • mrfacebook
    July 31, 2009
    mrfacebook
    Movie of the 90's. The characters, the music, the philosophy.
  • Lilbrowncat
    July 31, 2009
    Lilbrowncat
    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!
  • evelynmedrano1
    July 30, 2009
    evelynmedrano1
    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!! :)
  • mindymelena
    July 28, 2009
    mindymelena
    The best movie, soundtrack, and book !
  • jimmybuz
    July 27, 2009
    jimmybuz
    didnt understand it i knew i wouldnt be able to.
  • swinginglemur
    July 26, 2009
    swinginglemur
    I loved this when I was younger but now I just cannot enjoy it. WTF
  • 976Weevil
    July 25, 2009
    976Weevil
    Didn't really care for this one
  • MrsInsomnia
    July 25, 2009
    MrsInsomnia
    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.
  • cherrystyle4u2003
    July 23, 2009
    cherrystyle4u2003
    TRULY ON OF THE STUPIIST MOVIES I EVER SAW!!
    WHAT IS THS CRAP?
    WAS CALLED HILLARIOUS BY SOME PEOPLE, AM I MISSING SOMETHING HERE?
  • oyasuminasaix
    July 23, 2009
    oyasuminasaix
    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.
  • Martherdumptruck
    July 22, 2009
    Martherdumptruck
    funny, dirty, grosse, but great
  • ceilinexq
    July 22, 2009
    ceilinexq
    gorgeous! awesome! fantastic! one of the best movie i have ever seen, genius work
  • agentjade
    July 22, 2009
    agentjade
    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.
  • aidensesused
    July 22, 2009
    aidensesused
    This movie is amazing. I love it so much. I like the artistic view behind the eyes of a heroin addict. Perfect.
  • JULIEeTOD
    July 14, 2009
    JULIEeTOD
    Great and amazing film!!
  • deboratryniti
    July 12, 2009
    deboratryniti
    Choose life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family. Choose a fucking big television, Choose washing machines, cars, compact disc players, ...
  • callyboy
    July 11, 2009
    callyboy
    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.
  • joselobometal
    July 8, 2009
    joselobometal
    Gran obra de Irvine Welsh, uno de los mejores escritores de Escocia. Brillante en todos los sentidos.
  • VelvetDecay
    July 8, 2009
    VelvetDecay
    Diverso dai soliti film sulla droga. Ewan è semplicemente fantastico, e la colonna sonora fenomenale. In più, adoro il personaggio di Diane.
  • xXxXHorrorFanxXxX
    July 6, 2009
    xXxXHorrorFanxXxX
    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.
  • Tuplad
    July 6, 2009
    Tuplad
    Awesome movie, great accents and some funny scenes.
  • Swordfishtrombone99
    July 4, 2009
    Swordfishtrombone99
    Arrghh, I'm never able to fully finish this movie..
  • crimsonglas
    July 2, 2009
    crimsonglas
    Wicked film! great acting!!!
  • ardnajela04
    July 1, 2009
    ardnajela04
    -OMG I loved Ewan McGregor

    -Cool story

    -Good music choice ;) (perfect day, lust for life and sing :D )
  • amonra183
    June 30, 2009
    amonra183
    Perfect directing by Danny Boyle
  • haheita
    June 28, 2009
    haheita
    Los noventas hechos película, exelente soundtrack, muy divertida.
  • FlyingSolo2009
    June 18, 2009
    FlyingSolo2009
    A crazy, insane ride of a movie.
  • sciencefair
    June 16, 2009
    sciencefair
    Excellent soundtrack. Mid-90s underground brit-pop WHOA.
  • Surfer567Rosa
    June 16, 2009
    Surfer567Rosa
    i like to call it the ewan mcgregor show.
  • pooky3684
    June 16, 2009
    pooky3684
    One of my favorite movies of all times. It's sick, twisted, real, and funny. The actors did this movie justice!
  • kanokaan
    June 16, 2009
    kanokaan
    I think Danny Boyle is the symbol of the English Cinema."Trainspotting" couldnt be directed better.And it is the same thing for the acting too.So you feel like you got electric when you see the movie.Acting,Camera and script is enjoyable.But it is ironic too.cause all the things ...( read more)happening because of heroin.All of these boys are using heroin except Begbie and Tommy.Well...Tommy is starting but Robert Carlyle as Begbie snt using it whole the movie.He dont have to use it anyway.He is a psyco al the time.So every actor espeically Carlyle is perfecto.Great directing,Perfecto acting,Great script...A great movie about mostly heroin.But dont think it overrating heroin.It is defaming heroin.
  • exureimundo
    June 16, 2009
    exureimundo
    The best movie about heroin I ever saw- it's definitely not a "Just Say No" movie; nor was it a "heroin chic" movie as my house mate seems to think it was, as it clearly did not make drug addiction look tempting to any sane person. I had a major crush on Ewan MacGregor after this...( read more), until he played Obi Wan Kenobi of course!
  • ohagankieran
    June 15, 2009
    ohagankieran
    Trainspotting doesn't glorify heroin. It glorifies youth. Youth at its worst, mostly, but youth trying to sort things as only youth can. Watch it again on video and it's still, in parts, hilariously funny. But whereas in the cinema peer pressure helped everyone laugh as the junki...( read more)es got it all wrong, sitting on your own sofa, heroin looks more serious than ever. This doesn't spoil the film, but it destroys the idea that Trainspotting could ever glorify heroin. No way.



    It begins with Renton (McGregor) giving up "that shite" but falling at the first hurdle, right down the worst toilet in Scotland. Truly one of cinema's most disgusting sequences, and perfect to introduce the rollercoaster rush of an unforgettable first half hour. Rich, earthy dialogue gushes like a ruptured sewer, etching characters deeper than any laughter lines. Sick Boy (Miller) mixes Connery's Bond with cod philosophy, Spud (Bremner) mixes dorky geekdom with the world's worst interview technique, while Begbie (Carlyle) mixes psycho sensibilities with impressive dexterity using the wrong end of a pool cue. But these personalities, like the settings ? bile green apartment walls, the blood red den of their dealer Mother Superior ? are stylised and get a sudden and shocking reality injection straight after a catalogue of hilariously catastrophic sexual encounters.



    The morning after, everything's changed. Renton's already classic rant against fresh air and the English can signal one thing only: a return to heroin, to crime and to hell. Director Boyle allows roughly two minutes before throwing the viewer into the pit, and it's a stunning turnaround. A baby dies, Spud goes to jail, Renton goes cold turkey ? humiliated by his parents, tormented by ghosts and lectured, bizarrely, by Dale Winton about HIV.



    Once again Renton gets his life back on the rails, but the nightmares of his past follow him even to London where he snatches despair from the very jaws of hope. Fittingly, he and his unwelcome flatmates Begbie and Sick Boy return briefly to their Edinburgh roots to bury another heroin statistic, before a coach trip back south for an amateurish, pathetic drug deal ? selling rather than buying, for once, and for one last thrill. It all goes pear-shaped, naturally, and no one is surprised, because by now the message is sinking in: heroin is for losers. For useless, unreliable fuck-ups, But in the hands of Boyle and this fantastic cast, and with a stunning soundtrack, it is possible to receive that message in an unprecedented and unrivalled piece of entertainment. Something Britain can be proud of and Hollywood must be afraid of. If we Brits can make movies this good about subjects this horrific, what chance does Tinseltown have?


    Choose life? Get a life ? choose Trainspotting
  • chanfan71
    June 15, 2009
    chanfan71
    Own it on Laser Disc
  • eco1508
    June 14, 2009
    eco1508
    A hard hitting account of a life of drugs and the effect it has on you and your friends. Disturbing and provocative with standout performances and fabulous direction by Danny Boyle!

Summary

Trainspotting Summary