I, alongside many others, was shocked to hear about the murder of Rob and Michele Reiner at the end of 2025. As a comedy fan, Rob Reiner is a bit of a legend. As a movie fan, his run of directorial credits from the mid-1980s through to the early 1990s is considered an almost-unrivalled hot streak. The fact that his film career both started and ended with Spinal Tap is at least a teeny tiny silver lining to the massive cloud that is his untimely death.
I have not really been aware of the overwhelming critical consensus on Spinal Tap II: The End Continues, but I really liked it. REALLY liked it. Like many sequels, it suffers from the fact that it just isn't the original film. But this had moments that made me laugh just as hard as I laughed at some moments in the first film.
Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest), David St. Hubbins (Michael McKean), and Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer) are aiming to re-unite Spinal Tap after a break of many years. There has been bitterness, there have been legal wranglings, and there have been a number of unexpected side ventures. The band are ready to rock though, but are there enough fans left eager to hear them?
Written by the leads and Reiner, and once again full of riffs and tangents that showcase the improvisational skills of the cast around the loose structure, Spinal Tap II: The End Continues is pretty much exactly what Tap fans should want from a sequel. The reveals of what each character has been up to prove delightful, the reworking of classic gags is done well, and the newer additions (Kerry Godliman, Chris Addison, and Valerie Franco) fit in perfectly with the established team. I would also say that all of the celebrity cameos work in service of the comedy, as opposed to bringing things grinding to a halt to simply point and highlight the household name, but I know some others disagree on that point.
It seems redundant to praise Guest, McKean, and Shearer on their ability to portray such fully-realised comedy creations, considering they have been among the very best to do it for over four decades now, but there's certainly some extra magic sprinkled over them whenever they are showing us the highs and lows of the rock 'n' roll lifestyle. And if you don't chuckle as Guest explains his bizarre store that trades in cheese and guitars then I feel sorry for you.
I was really tempted to fill this review with all of my favourite quotes and moments, but I have instead tried to show some restraint. That's why it's so brief. The best comedies make you want to simply repeat the best bits to other people, and this feels like one of the best comedies I have watched in some time. More importantly, it feels like a worthy sequel to one of the all-time greats, it feels like a fitting finale for Spinal Tap, and it feels like Reiner inadvertently bookended his directorial career with two giant monuments to comedy. Like two large upright stones, if you will, that cast large shadows over the landscape.
8/10
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