Over the years the Jackass phenomenon grew stronger and stronger but then Knoxville went off and became an actor in his own right while the other Jackass stars went off to do their own things and sadly we had the untimely death of Ryan Dunn as well.
Well now Jackass are back with their fourth, and what they say is their last, feature film – simply titled Jackass Forever.
The first thing that becomes obvious when watching Jackass Forever is just how much Hollywood has changed in the 11 years since the Jackass boys’ last outing. Maybe it is the fact that everyone who used to be their fans have matured or maybe it is because nowadays there are thousands of YouTube and TikTok channels that have men and women pulling pranks and hurting themselves, but most of the things in this film will not even raise a laugh from even the most hardened Jackass fan.
You would expect seeing this is supposed to be the final ever Jackass film the guys and gals would want to go out with a bang, yet here they barely go out with a whimper. So, of the stunts that we see here we have seen on the show before and then one that they bill as something special is actually Knoxville being shot out of a cannon. Yes, that is so lacklustre that it is something that you can see at any Country Fair around the world these days.
The other big problem with Jackass Forever is the fact that for some reason the Jackass team and director Jeff Tremaine (The Dirt) have decided to bring in a bunch of new members, which falls pretty flat. Basically fans of Jackass want to go into this movie and watch Knoville, Steve-O and Wee Man doing the stuff that made them famous, they don’t want to sit down and watch a bunch of randoms that they don’t know do some pretty lame stuff.
There are some moments that do work. Having guys think they are getting attacked by snakes in a dark room that is loaded with traps, having someone else tied to a chair when a bear is brought into the room and of course seeing Johnny Knoxville face off with a bull raises a few laughs and gets the adrenaline racing. But sadly there just isn’t enough of those kinds of things, no matter if it is Machine Gun Kelly people just aren’t going to find someone being slapped into a pool by a giant hand funny anymore.
It is kind of a shame if the Jackass legacy does end with Jackass Forever. Whether you think of them as fools or brave stuntmen the Jackass teams did create something that was enjoyed by millions of people around the world. It truly deserves something better (and perhaps more epic) to end on.
Yes, many will say that perhaps COVID played a big part in the failure of Jackass Forever. If that is the case though then perhaps the team should have waited until after the pandemic so they could have filmed without as many restrictions, after all coming out in 2022 means the film misses the big anniversary that they were aiming for anyway.
Hardcore fans of Jackass should be prepared to be underwhelmed by this film. It certainly doesn’t have any of the epic stunts that the previous films have had and for first time viewers save your money because this certainly isn’t worth paying for to see in a cinema.
Jackass Forever is currently showing in Phuket and has been classified 18.
2.5/5 Stars
David Griffiths has been working as a film and music reviewer for over 20 years. That time has seen him work in radio, television and in print. You can follow him at www.facebook.com/subcultureentertainmentaus
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