Review - Jackass 3D
The Jackass boys are back on the big screen. This time, the budget is bigger, the stunts more disgusting and everything is in eye-popping 3D.
For anyone who has not seen even an episode of Jackass before, the concept is this; Johnny Knoxville and co perform silly, dangerous and sometimes disgusting feats for the camera, and have a whale of a time doing it – even though someone broke a bone during the making of Jackass 3D.
All the faces you have come to know and love are there – Bam Margera, Chris ‘Party Boy’ Pontius, Dave England, Preston Lacy, Jason ‘Wee Man’ Ancuna, Ryan Dunn and Steve-O. Also making appearances are Spike Jonze, Tony Hawk and Bam’s beleaguered parents – April and Phil.
The Cast of Jackass 3D arrive to attend the premiere for 'Jackass 3D' at Cineworld on October 31, 2010 in Dublin. (David Levingstone/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures)
The stunts are in a similar vein as before; the Jackass boys hurt themselves, take on animals and put themselves into some pretty disgusting situations, all in the name of making us – and each other – laugh. And it works.
There are some seriously hilarious laugh-out-loud moments – Bam getting stuck in a snake pit, the imaginative recreation of the iconic Maxell tape ad using a jet engine and the on-going ‘Rocky’ prank spring to mind – but of course there are some incredibly gross moments including a Sweatsuit Cocktail and a ‘fully loaded’ - if you get my drift – Portaloo turned into a bungee experience.
While Jackass 3D is brilliantly silly, one never tires of the sight of these idiots putting themselves in harm’s way, but the audience is sometimes left wondering at the purpose of the 3D. Yes, there are some clever uses – Johnny Knoxville driving a jet ski towards the camera and angry bees hurtling towards the audience – but it seemed that the movie was not filmed with 3D demands in mind. That said, however, it could be argued that Jackass is the perfect use of the 3D technology. There have been few movies that have actually been enhanced by the technology – notable exceptions being The Nightmare Before Christmas and Coraline – instead, 3D is often used to cover up poor story telling. No finger pointing, but you know the movies I mean. This isn’t an issue with jackass - there is no story to tell. As well as this, 3D is an excuse to charge the public more money to see the movie.
Jackass 3D may be mindless in places, but remember how film began; with an urge to document, swiftly transitioning into making people laugh through slapstick. So while Jackass may not be suitable for the more squeamish in the audience it is more in touch with the history of cinema than perhaps even it’s makers know. Plus… It’s hilarious.
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