Spinal Tap II: The End Continues comes a none-too-sprightly 41 years after This Is Spinal Tap, a film some say is the greatest comedy of all time, but while I really enjoyed it first time, it doesn’t do as well on subsequent viewings.
I saw it again, about three weeks before this release, and it was fine, but rarely laugh-out-loud. But how does the new sequel compare?
Kerry Godliman (We Live In Time) takes the role of Hope Faith, daughter of the band’s previous manager, Ian, explaining that he’d died offscreen, although the actor, Tony Hendra, passed away in 2021. Her point in all this is to explain there was a contract which stated that after the band last performed, 15 years ago (so, offscreen), they still had one more gig they needed to perform. Hence, Martin DiBergi (Rob Reiner) – note the “Martin”, not “Marty” – is here again to bring the band back together, but where can they be?
Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest) is running a quaint “Cheese and Guitars” olde shoppe-type place in Berwick-Upon-Tweed; David St. Hubbins (Michael McKean Dead Ringers (2023)) has a recording studio, creating incidental on-hold music as well as making murder-themed podcasts with one set in a care home, named Night Of The Assisted Living Dead; and Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer) is running a glue museum.
Spinal Tap II: The End Continues has some minor laughs, such as looking for a new drummer – leading to auditions from an old woman, and then one of the Blue Man Group – but there’s nothing laugh-out-loud like “Turn it up to 11”, even first time round, and for so many of the lines, just nothing really feels like it’s landing. With the first film, Nigel actually looked clueless. Here, he just looks too knowing about the whole thing.
It also takes until much later in the film when anything remotely amusing seems to come along, surprisingly with Nigel being the funniest of the bunch – for a handful of comments, even though time has meant he looks the least like his original self.
This film is far less a theatrical experience, and more like a TV movie follow-up, especially since the film spends around 80% of it in the rehearsal studio as they prepare for their final gig, as opposed to test gigs.
Meanwhile, Paul McCartney and Elton John (plus others, but on video) turn up to cash their cheques, while both Ms Godliman and Chris Addison (In The Loop), as promoter Simon Howler, look bored to be there. And I could reel off a few ‘jokes’ from the notes I made, but if they can’t make the effort…
For Spinal Tap II: The End Continues, this feels like yet again, they’re just ripping off The Comic Strip’s Bad News, with most of The Young Ones cast, but which had Peter Richardson – as drummer Spider Webb – who was originally meant to be in The Young Ones, anyway.
The first film came out the year after 1983’s Bad News Tour, and the premise of getting the band back together is the same as 1987’s second short film, More Bad News. They are INFINITELY funnier than either Spinal Tap film.
And one comment about a scene late on in this film, but for which I’ll put behind a spoiler header…
NOTE: There’s no specific mid- or post-credits scenes as such, but like the first film, this one just continues as the end credits play out. There were only a handful of people in the screening I saw, and it’s not been a huge success anyway, but everyone who was there did stay until the end.
Spinal Tap II: The End Continues is in cinemas now, and is available to pre-order on 4K Blu-ray, Blu-ray and DVD.
Detailed specs:
Cert: 
Running time: 84 minutes
Release date: September 12th 2025
Studio: Warner Bros
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Cinema: Odeon Trafford Centre
Rating: 3/10
Director: Rob Reiner
Producers: Matt George, Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Michele Reiner, Rob Reiner, Harry Shearer
Screenplay: Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Rob Reiner, Harry Shearer
Cast:
Nigel Tufnel: Christopher Guest
David St. Hubbins: Michael McKean
Derek Smalls: Harry Shearer
Martin DiBergi: Rob Reiner
Didi Crockett: Valerie Franco
Caucasian Jeff: CJ Vanston
Oxygen: Jean Cromie Schmit
Hope Faith: Kerry Godliman
Himself: Garth Brooks
Herself: Trisha Yearwood
Jeanine: June Chadwick
Bobbi Flekman: Fran Drescher
Peter La Pierre: Griffin Matthews
Artie Fufkin: Paul Shaffer
Himself: Elton John
Himself: Paul McCartney
Himself: David Furnish
Himself: Chad Smith
Simon Howler: Chris Addison
Yasmine Farangi: Kathreen Khavari
Himself: Lars Ulrich
Himself: Questlove
Moira: Nina Conti
SFX Tech Assistant Ben: Robert Walker-Branchaud
Didi’s Girlfriend Annie: Annie Gordenier
Daniel The Druid: Brad Williams
Damien The Druid: Jason ‘Wee Man’ Acuña (as Wee Man)
Bob Kitness: John Michael Higgins
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.