Fans Make Their Opinions On Jackass 4.5 Crystal Clear

Over a long career, Johnny Knoxville has entertained, blown away, and disgusted the masses with pranks and stunts in his hit creation, "Jackass." Through four movies and a popular MTV series, Knoxville and his band of fearless cohorts have done everything you can think of — and many things no one should ever have thought of.

"Jackass Forever" hit the theaters in 2022, bringing more crazy antics, including an honest-to-God close encounter with a bear. Fans of the series got an extra dose of mayhem with the release of "Jackass 4.5" on Netflix. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Knoxville talked about his excitement for the extended installment. "It's strong. You know we have a strong movie when 4.5 is strong. So many great things got kicked out of 'Jackass Forever' just because maybe they were similar to something else we had in the film, or we had too many pranks on the cast or too many things like this. Any number of reasons can kick something into 4.5."

So how do the fans feel about the extra "Jackass" content? Shameless cash grab or essential addition to the "Jackass" oeuvre?

At its core, "Jackass" is mainly about the outrageousness of the stunts and the pranks. There is a deep curiosity in watching people do and experience things most of us never have to worry about. However, there is also an underlying feeling of camaraderie between the friends. While they push each other to take everything a little further, there is a companionship between them that compels you to continue watching.

u/Rip_With_Relish argued that it brings something missing from the theatrical film, "I thought it felt more like jackass than forever did. I laughed a lot more a 4.5. I liked the discussions with the cast. To me they missed the friendship element in forever and it was just stunt+everyone laugh." u/Pietjanhenk1 agreed, writing the chemistry of the group is what makes "Jackass" great.

Not everyone believes that "Jackass 4.5" improved on the film, however. u/taylornewell40 wrote that the franchise has failed to keep up with the earlier installments: "I was hoping this would redeem forever for me. Turned it off about halfway through. I can watch jackass movies over and over, but these new ones just aren't doing it for me." He says that the franchise's focus on specific parts of the male anatomy ruined it. Others, including u/OK_Day9466, agreed that too many pranks or stunts go that route. 

Whether the fans loved it or hated it, the franchise proved to do today what it did 22 years ago; it got everyone talking about it.