Three out of
Five stars
Running time:
95 mins
Undeniably funny and frequently repulsive, the third Jackass movie isn't going to win any new fans or lose any old ones – you already know whether you'll like it or not, largely superfluous 3D or no largely superfluous 3D.
What’s it all about?
Directed by Jeff Tremaine, Jackass 3D sticks to the same structure as the previous two films, presenting a combination of elaborate practical jokes (a giant hand knocking people off their feet, a bar fight staged by little people, complete with tiny cops and tiny paramedics), crazy stunts (Johnny Knoxville jumping a hedge on a jet-ski, Steve-O getting launched into the air in an excrement-filled portaloo) and hidden camera sequences (Knoxville reprising his obscene pensioner from Jackass Number Two).
The Good
As with the previous films, the stunts themselves are frequently disgusting (Steve-O drinking Preston Lacy's sweat), occasionally horrifying (one of the gang volunteering to get kicked by a donkey, another getting a tooth pulled by attaching it to a Lamborghini) and often very stupid indeed (running through a corridor of cattle prods and stun guns, playing tetherball with a beehive, superglueing themselves together) but they are also very, very funny. That said, some of the more repulsive antics this time round seem to push the boundaries just that little bit further, such as or a pig eating an apple out of Preston Lacy's naked arse or Dave England creating a poo volcano (every bit as disgusting as it sounds).
The most interesting aspect of the film is almost accidental – everyone is eight years older (but obviously not all that much wiser) than they were when the first film came out and it's clear that their hearts aren't really in it anymore, perhaps because they now have (sadly off-screen) wives and families to consider. As a result, you spend the whole film expecting one of them to break ranks with the line 'I'm too old for this crap'.
The Bad
One or two moments aside (Knoxville's jet-ski jump, a man unfurling a party blower into the camera with fart-power), the 3D doesn't really add all that much to the film. Similarly, the gleeful inventiveness of the previous films seems to be absent, although there is one inspired sequence with a jet-engine wind-tunnel.
Worth seeing?
Kids, don't try this at home! Basically, if you liked/hated the first two Jackass films then you'll like/hate Jackass 3D. Delete as applicable.