“Spinal Tap॥: The End Continues”
Genre: Mockumentary/ Comedy
Rated: (R)
Released: September 12, 2025
Trigger Warning: Explicit language, sexual references

Rating: 9.5/10

Sequels for movies rarely, if ever, work out to be as decent as their predecessors. Even rarer for them to be better than the originals. “Spinal Tap 2: The End Continues” is one of these oddities.

It takes place 40 years after the original, and it’s necessary to be familiar with the first movie to understand everything. 

“This Is Spinal Tap” was released on March 2, 1984. Both films are mockumentaries/comedies. The first follows interviewer Martin Di Bergi (Rob Reiner) as he documents English rock band Spinal Tap while on tour promoting their new album ‘Smell The Glove’. 

The band consists of guitarists Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest) and David St. Hubbins (Michael McKean), bassist Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer), keyboardist Viv Savage (David Kaff), and drummer Mike Shrimpton (Ric Parnell). The only three members to be in the second movie were the guitarists and bassist (as well as Martin, of course). The actors who had played them in the 1984 film starred in the sequel again, with additional features from iconic figures such as Paul McCartney and Elton John. 

Even after 40 years, the original actors brought their characters just as much life as they did in their youth, which can’t always be said for such a large gap of time. 

Taking after the first, the sequel follows Martin again while he interviews the remaining band members and related people, as Spinal Tap comes together once more for a reunion tour in New Orleans.

Everything about the movie was lovable. 

They formatted it in the same way they did with the first movie, with the camera cuts, introduction scene, color gradient, and cinematography, for example. The movie tries and succeeds in taking the viewer back to the original film throughout its entirety. 

A lot of the time, unless Martin was interviewing a person, or it was a still shot, you could see the camera moving around slightly as someone held it. It added a deeper sense of intimacy, making it feel less of a mockumentary and more of a documentary. 

The ambience of the movie, taking place in New Orleans, was a lovely touch as well. Especially considering the city has a very distinct culture from the rest of America. With all the band members coming back together after a hard falling out years ago, New Orleans seems a fitting place to reunite, as some of the music played in the streets reminds them of the good times.

The comedy aspect of it was amazing. Moviegoers will leave the theater with a sore stomach and a big grin on their faces. It plays off the classic British dry humor so well, and the oddball circumstances are hilarious. 

In the first quarter of the movie, Martin interviews each band member before they rejoin as Spinal Tap. Derek owns a museum of glue, and gives him the grand tour, showing his rare Galapagos turtle glue. He explains it can’t be made anymore, letting Martin take a whiff of it before doing so himself. The neck of the bottle gets stuck in Derek’s nose, where it remains for the rest of the interview. 

It’s simple, ditzy, endearing humor that doesn’t exclude anyone from understanding it. That sort of comedy is almost a lost art in movies today.

The whole sequel was much more enjoyable than the first movie. 

During the first film, moviegoers were only able to get about halfway through it the first time, and napped during some parts the second time. 

During the second film, moviegoers were alert, laughing, and digesting it so much better. This is the only sequel that can be said to be better than the original. 

“Spinal Tap॥: The End Continues” is highly recommended a thousand times over any Adam Sandler movie. 

A solid 9.5/10, for any moviegoer looking for a good laugh.