You stop cringing and start smiling, laughing even, and these kids, who seem like aliens at first, grow on you. They're weirdly likable.
Comment
01/01/00
Trainspotting (1995)
89
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:54
Fresh:48
Rotten:6
Average Rating:8.1/10
Consensus: A brutal, often times funny, other times terrifying portrayal of drug addiction in Edinburgh. Not for the faint of heart, but well worth viewing as a realistic and entertaining reminder of the horrors of drug use.
Runtime: 1 hr 34 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: A kinetic, intimate look inside the subculture of heroin abuse, this acclaimed adaptation of Irvine Welsh's novel follows the misadventures of Renton, a brash, twenty-something Edinburgh junkie,... [More]
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Ewen Bremner, Jonny Lee Miller, Kevin McKidd
Director: Danny Boyle
Reviews for Trainspotting
It would be pushing it to call Trainspotting a serious work of art or a major statement about anything, but as an edgy, artful piece of entertainment it beats any Hollywood release of the summer by miles.
01/01/00
It's all attitude, and little substance. Still, its attitude is catchy at times, filled with humor and sparks of energy.
01/01/00
Instead of the social-realism approach taken by most movies dealing with drug subcultures, Trainspotting observes its subjects with a mordant eye -- an inclusive perspective...
01/01/00
Trainspotting has its creative moments and sometimes it can be funny, but the viewer should be prepared for a downbeat experience and should expect to find himself some places he would never go of his own accord.
01/01/00
...nastier, funnier, and scary enough to keep me away from any kind of drugs...
01/01/00
A fine example of efficient, resourceful filmmaking.
01/01/00
This is not dour social realism. It's a shot- from-a-cannon youth movie, with likable young people sticking needles in their arms in working-class Edinburgh.
01/01/00
Trainspotting is one of the most effective anti-drug movies I've seen in a long time. Its depiction of heroin addiction is so raw and gritty that you walk away with the realization that heroin is a drug not to be messed with.
01/01/00
Wickedly funny, sick, insightful, depressing, dirty, unjudging, awesomely acted and brilliant.
01/01/00
The movie has been attacked as pro-drug and defended as anti-drug, but actually it is simply pragmatic. It knows that addiction leads to an unmanageable, exhausting, intensely uncomfortable daily routine, and it knows that only two things make it bearable
01/01/00
Top CriticOthers, if they choose, may praise Trainspotting for its squalor; I prefer to praise it for the invigorating perspectives of a writer and a director with ideas and the ability to convey them.
01/01/00
A few patches are subtitled, but the general effect is of watching an opera without having read the libretto.
01/01/00
...in TRAINSPOTTING the filmmakers are so far over the line, that I could not like the picture no matter how hard I tried.
01/01/00
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01/01/00
...we are taken full speed into a world of despair and self-destructiveness that is more fun than any action film, more thoughtful than any hokey Hollywood drama, and more clever than a typical Hollywood romantic comedy.
01/01/00
Latest News for Trainspotting
January 09, 2009:
UK Critics Consensus: Indifference For Defiance, Whilst Slumdog Millionaire Shines
A trip to the cinema is a sure-fire way to beat the January blues, but which film should you be shelling out to see? Vying for your pennies this weekend we have Daniel Craig in... More...
January 09, 2009:
Five Favourite Films with Golden Globe-Winner Danny Boyle
After sweeping the Critics' Choice Awards this week, visionary and eclectic director Danny Boyle shares his five favourite films with Rotten Tomatoes. As you'd expect from his... More...
August 24, 2005:
Danny Boyle's "Sun" Begins to Shine
Thanks to ComingSoon.net for sharing a press release from Fox Searchlight regarding Danny Boyle's "Sunshine" -- and the fact that it began shooting yesterday. More...
June 10, 2005:
Searchlight Moving Forward With Boyle's "Sunshine"
Variety reports some great news for all you Danny Boyle fans out there. Production will get underway on "Sunshine" this summer, and the unpredictable director already... More...
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