Buffalo Movies: The franchise known for disgusting, painful, fascinating and hilarious hijinks rehashes its greatest hits in ‘Best and Last’

By Matthew Turner

(All images courtesy of IMDb)

It’s 2026, and Johnny Knoxville and Jeff Tremaine are still bringing their merry crew of stunt professionals together for a memory-driven clip film. At least they got half of the film’s title right.

Before diving any deeper into “Jackass: Best and Last,” it is important to acknowledge how this review will not change any opinions going into the film. It’s “Jackass.” You either celebrate the shocking stuntacular of torture and/or public embarrassment that Knoxville and company can concoct, like me, or you are repulsed by the disregard for safety just to make the audience laugh. 

The franchise, now in its 24th year of theatrical outings, generously spares any stunts that could break the “Jackass” crew any more than their countless injuries have. Instead, herein lies the central grab of the film. Rather than creating new stunts, “Jackass: Best and Last” seeks to make the viewer feel as if they are part of a celebration of the franchise’s life. Remember the “High-Five” stunt where they hit Bam with a big ol’ hand and he flies back? That was classic! I remember back in 2010 how much everyone would talk about that bit. “Jackass: Best and Last” seeks to bring nostalgia-filled smiles to the fans returning for the conclusion, but is that better than catching viewers off-guard and paying homage to the greats of silent cinema?

Such is the trend of cinema as a whole, comfort takes the wheel over originality in this final entry. People become comfortable with characters, celebrities and story beats, leading to the non-permanence of the art that we ingest today. No one’s ever really gone, the movies are the shows you watch at home, they’re remakes of what you watch at home, or they are the same as the movie you saw from the same production company 6 months ago. It is a disease of originality, as well as the human drive to create and think. It is sad to see “Jackass,” an iconic countercultural property, follow suit with the large tentpole productions. Why show off the new team members, including the first woman to be part of the crew? Nah, let’s shut her up and play the hits.

Everyone knows exactly what they are getting with a “Jackass” film. You will cringe, gag, and if you are like me, you’ll flail with laughter. However, recommending “Jackass: Best and Last” is entirely reliant on one question: Do you have access to “Jackass: Number Two” at home? If the answer is yes, I can recommend that you watch “Jackass” with the uninitiated at home. Share the shock and laughs with someone who cannot predict what will happen rather than watch the same old-same old in an uninspired finale to one of contemporary comedy’s great franchises.