Jackass 3D

In 1928, Charlie Chaplin wowed audiences by appearing on screen with a real, live lion for his celebrated film The Circus. A lion! Real! On screen! Audiences were mesmerized by this fascinating new art of cinema, an art made all the more engaging for the fact that the plastics of its image had roots in reality; that somewhere else in space and time, Chaplin had actually stood next to this lion and the reality of this image was now available to them for their own viewing pleasure.

For a contemporary equivalent, I give you Steve-O launched through the stratosphere in a PortaPotty full of dog poop. In 3D.

Jackass 3D appeals to cinema's time-honored capacity for ontological testament, and makes an equally compelling case for the camera's potency as an empathy machine: We see the setup of a stunt, we endure its execution, and we then either clutch our balls or puke in our mouths, depending on what the stunt entails. Cinema is reality, and their pain is ours.

Jackass isn't simply effective in the art of its performers, however, as there is a genius to the framing and editing of each segment as well. Many of the film's laughs are built in to its premises, and the crew smartly eschews over-explanation. We see a tee ball, we see the path this ball is on track to take, and we see Steve-O's nuts--as an intelligent and discerning audience, it is left to us to piece together the narrative before it unfolds, resulting in our increased engagement and a far greater potential for humor upon realization. And we then hang in that moment of anticipation, until the situation's potential energy is quickly and cathartically rendered kinetic.

Jackass 3D is notable as well for its use of stereoscopic 3D cinematography. In one scene, Johnny Knoxville fires a projectile toward the screen in slow motion to great effect: shallow depth of field slowly reveals this item to be a dildo, and 3D reveals the dildo to be humorously close to your face. Elsewhere, stereoscopy is employed in the service of some truly excellent model work; the scene's genuine beauty makes its ultimate subversion all the more effective.

Needless to say, Jackass 3D will not appeal to everyone. But as the film so effectively marries the ontology of outrageous stupidity to so many facets of cinematic expression, it's definitely worth seeing if you think you can stomach it. TK 10/17/10

I find it hard to imaging that there are many people who stumble across a film called 'Jackass 3D,' not knowing what 'Jackass' is all about. Then they put the film on, watch it to the end and thus hate every moment of it and are disgusted by what they just watched.

However, in case you're thinking that 'Jackass' is merely a mildly offensive term for someone who is a 'little bit silly,' then you really need to swat up on your pop culture. I believe it started out on a cable channel as one of those ridiculously over-the-top late night shows that gains a cult following for all the wrong reasons. Basically, the premise is a bunch of men hurt each other. No, this is not 'scripted' in the traditional sense. It's literally a bunch of guys coming up with weird and imaginative ways to hurt and humiliate each other (and sometimes unsuspecting members of the public or their family).

If you're therefore thinking of something vaguely clever or surreal (ala 'Triggerhappy TV') then you're wildly off course. There is nothing clever about 'Jackass' and there never will be. It's pure 'shock TV' and, if that's your thing, then you'll have a blast with this film.

Naturally, there's no story. It's just one wacky clip after the next of guys doing painful and disgusting 'stunts' (or 'pranks,' depending on who you ask). Again, if you like that sort of thing then you'll enjoy the film.

If you're in two minds about whether to watch this (or any of the 'Jackass' films or TV) then I'm sure you can find many a clip on the internet. Watch it then decide if it's for you. Trust me... it'll save you an hour and a half of watching grown men pull each other's teeth out with sports cars and sitting in a port-a-loo (full of human 'you-know-what') and then getting jettisoned high into the air, making the *ahem* 'brown stuff' go all over the man entombed within. Yes, that actually happens.

This sequel in the 'Jackass' franchise is 3D. I didn't watch it in the cinema using glasses, only at home on the telly, so I can't really tell how much the 3D adds to the effect. Either way, it's pretty disgusting. But, at the end of the day, I'm almost ashamed to admit that I enjoyed this film (and the previous two). No, I don't watch them often, but, if I'm in the mood for something so low brow that I can almost feel the IQ points diminishing as the runtime progresses, then this is it.

I really liked the last Jackass movie, because there was an intelligence at work there, beyond just a desire to be shocking and gross (though "shocking" and "gross" is being too mild). And this was just a lot more of the same.

The film is not for the squeamish, especially due to the delight taken in excrement. Excrement here is treated like confetti on New Years Eve. I don't want to get into details, because much of my enjoyment of this film is due to the shock factor. There were a few scenes that I was just too scared to watch.

I won't get into trying to describe or give a list of what's shown here. Let me just say that if Thomas Edison had ever thought his invention would show something like THIS, he'd have destroyed his camera and killed himself. But for about 80% of this film, I was howling with laughter, though terribly embarrassed I was carrying on like that.

The only thing I can say specific to a scene in this movie is that the Midget Bar Fight has got to be, no doubt about it, the most hilarious "Candid" scene I've ever watched.

I had major qualms about going to see a film so crude, gross, violent, and obviously marketed to an audience about 40 years younger. I saw it. I loved it. I'm so embarrassed. And I saw it in 2-D. Which was at least one D more than I needed. The idea of watching some of these scenes in 3-D . . .

Jackass is childish . Jackass is stupid . Jackass is sick . Jackass is right up my street!

In this latest instalment Johnny Knoxville and the boys go all three dimensional on our arse and although i only saw this in glorious 2 D it still looked amazing.

The contents are much the same as what we're used to. This time we are exposed to stunts such as " Super Mighty Glue" where Wee Man & Preston are super glued together. . "The High Five" , where a giant hand springs out and hits people unexpectedly and " The helicockter" well , Use your imagination on that one!.

My only disappointment is that i didn't get to see this in 3D as i think it might have looked great.

I'm not sure how much longer these guys can keep doing these stunts because sooner rather than later someone is going to get seriously hurt or failing that they will get too old but while they can i will still enjoy watching them.

Jackass 3D has intentionally done something I did not expect it to do. It purposely tugs at your heart if you have been watching the show since it's original inception in 2000. Seeing these guys at their age now and how well their chemistry is evoked on the screen makes you long for the early 2000's so this crew can always be around.

The purpose to see this film is to be grossed out of your mind right? Well rest assured you will laugh hard and be extremely grossed out. The film flows with a great pace just as the predecessors did.

As I said before, if you are a huge fan of the show, like I am, the closing credits of the film unexpectedly tugs at your emotions. It really is nostalgic to see this cast at their current age. Though they are all still in good physical shape, you can't help but wonder how much longer their bodies can handle the abuse.

Heres to more good times.