Jackass 2.5 – Unrated (Paramount DVD-Video)

 

Picture: C     Sound: C     Extras: C+     Film: C-

 

 

This reviewer has been watching the boys of Jackass from the very beginning and has watched them go from backyard dumb-asses too Hollywood Jackasses.  After a hit MTV series with multiple spin-offs and two successful films, everyone knew they had not seen the last of the Jackass crew; but seeing them comeback in an uninspiring and dull straight to DVD release was not what fans were looking for.  Jackass 2.5 for all intents and purposes is the left over footage of Jackass Number 2 and is truly disappointing.  The stunts performed by the seemingly pain retarded cast are not exactly the ‘same old junk,’ but close to it.

 

The stunts performed are glimpses at Jackass Number Two and are said to exist only because there was ‘already too much in the second film;’ but really it just feels like the stuff that was not good enough to make the second film.  This reviewer would have been much happier if all this material were included in a ‘Super-Duper Jackass Number Two DVD release’ prior to Jackass Number 3’s release; you read right, Jackass Number 3 is in production.  At least if it was in a ‘Special Edition’ release this reviewer feels that fans could be justified in spending the money on a film with great extras, but to trick fans into thinking this release is something new and exciting is just wrong.  This reviewer does not recommend this release and can only hope that Jackass Number 3 brings the boys back to their senses.

 

The technical features on this single disc release are simple at best.  The picture is presented in a rough, gritty, and color imbalanced anamorphic 1.78 X 1 Widescreen.  Like the other Jackass films and television episodes, many of the scenes are filmed spur-of-the-moment with handy cams or in such crazy situations it is hard to use top quality camerawork, but nevertheless even by forgiving the intended nature of the footage, it needs some work.  The sound is often distant, muffled, or distorted in its Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereos for the same reasons the picture is listed as less than adequate and needs some work as well.  The extras on this quickly release are surprising and often better than the film itself, offering Jackass aficionados a making of featurette and bonus segments and stunts that made this reviewer laugh more than most of the film.  Other extras include ‘making of Jackass the Game’ which is pure awful and a simple and unnecessary Photo Gallery.  Overall, the technical features only worsen an already disappointing Jackass release.

 

This reviewer is no prude or right wing nut job (maybe a little), so don’t take this review as a witch hunt on Jackass, but rather a HUGE suggestion for the boys to step it up and not just slap the Jackass name on any old garbage.  This reviewer is more than sure the crew of Jackass has plenty of money (especially Knoxville) without releasing poor quality stunt discs like this.  There are scenes of Preston dressed as King Kong, beads in Bam’s rectum, and even painful scenes on a bed of nails; but none of these cut-scenes add up to a solid release.  You would have to be a Jackass to call this a new release.

 

 

-   Michael P Dougherty II