Jackass 4.5 (2022)
★★ — Jackass 4.5 (2022)
There is a particular kind of film that exists almost entirely as an appendix, and Jackass 4.5 fits that description to a tee. Released in 2022 directly to Netflix, it works as a companion piece to Jackass Forever, which hit cinemas earlier that same year, gathering up the outtakes, behind-the-scenes moments and footage that did not make the theatrical cut. The format is not new for this franchise: Jeff Tremaine and the crew have done this before, most notably with Jackass 3.5 and Jackass 2.5, both of which took a similar approach of supplementing a theatrical release with leftover material presented as its own ninety-minute package. Whether you find that a generous gift to fans or a slightly cynical way to squeeze the lemon a second time probably depends on how you feel about the franchise going in.
The Jackass franchise itself, which began life as a television programme on MTV in 2000, has always occupied a strange cultural space: part performance art, part amateur sports injury reel, part genuine documentary about a group of men who happen to find elaborate physical suffering hilarious. Tremaine has been the director behind the cameras for most of that journey, guiding the brand from its television origins through four main theatrical releases and several of these companion features, including Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa. That consistency of vision behind the camera is arguably what gave the franchise its shape, even when what appeared in front of the lens was gleefully shapeless. Produced through Dickhouse Productions alongside MTV Entertainment Studios and Paramount Pictures, Jackass 4.5 runs at ninety minutes and carries no tagline, which feels appropriate for a release that is, by design, a bonus disc made feature-length.
The principal cast is, as ever, the franchise's entire selling point. Johnny Knoxville, the de facto ringmaster of the operation, leads alongside Steve-O, Chris Pontius, Dave England and Ehren McGhehey, all veterans of the original run who first made names for themselves by doing things that most health and safety professionals would prefer not to think about. Steve-O in particular has become something of a cult figure well beyond the Jackass orbit, his combination of fearlessness and genuine warmth making him one of the more charismatic screen presences the franchise has produced. The ensemble dynamic, that sense that these people genuinely like each other even when one of them is firing the other out of a cannon, has always been the emotional glue holding the whole thing together. Whether that glue still holds is, of course, the question.
Jackass 4.5 is more of the same if you’re already on board. Slo-mo shots of grown men getting kicked in the junk, glued to walls, and flinging themselves off trampolines like human projectiles. The stunt commitment is still there, the camaraderie feels real, and some of the gags land with that old-school, “I can’t believe they did that” shock. But honestly? The magic’s fading. The new cast members just don’t have the same energy, and I can’t get past the fact that there’s a guy named Poopies now. And don’t get me started on Jasper’s dad showing up like he’s a core member of the crew. It’s sweet, maybe, that Johnny Knoxville’s still bringing people he loves into the madness, but it doesn’t make it funnier. It just makes it feel more like a family BBQ filmed with a GoPro. The old gang (Steve-O, Wee Man, Chris Pontius) still bring the pain, but the balance has shifted from reckless chaos to nostalgic clip show with extra padding. It’s not the worst thing, but it’s not Jackass either. It’s tired, a bit desperate, and lacking the raw, dangerous edge that made the originals so thrilling. Worth a chuckle if you’re already a fan, but mostly just sad, bruised men chasing a high they already peaked on 20 years ago.
For me, that sense of diminishing returns is the honest takeaway here, and I suspect a lot of long-term fans will quietly agree even if they would not say it out loud. There is something almost melancholy about watching a format that was thrilling precisely because it felt dangerous and spontaneous become, over time, a genre with its own conventions and expectations. The rawness that made early Jackass feel genuinely transgressive has softened into something more comfortable, and comfort is not exactly what you came here for. If you want to make an evening of it, pairing this with one of the earlier companion releases gives you a decent sense of how the formula has shifted over the years. On its own, though, this one lands more as a keepsake than a reason to gather everyone round the telly.
Rating: ★★ | Year: 2022 | Watched: 2025-09-07
Trailer
▶ Watch the official trailer for Jackass 4.5 (2022) on YouTube
Where to watch
Watch in the UK
Stream: Netflix · Netflix Standard with Ads
Rent: Apple TV Store · Rakuten TV · Amazon Video · Sky Store
Buy: Apple TV Store · Rakuten TV · Amazon Video · Sky Store
Physical: Amazon UK · Zavvi
Watch in the US
Stream: Netflix · Netflix Standard with Ads
Rent: Amazon Video · Apple TV Store · Google Play Movies · YouTube
Buy: Amazon Video · Apple TV Store · Google Play Movies · YouTube
Physical: Amazon US
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Related on Movies With Macca
More from Jeff Tremaine: Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa (2013) · Jackass: Gumball Rally 3000 Special (2002) · Jackass 3.5 (2011) · Jackass 2.5 (2007)
More with Johnny Knoxville: Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa (2013) · Skiptrace (2016) · The Dukes of Hazzard (2005) · The Ringer (2005)
More from the 2020s: Mononoke the Movie: The Phantom in the Rain (2024) · Mononoke the Movie: Chapter II - The Ashes of Rage (2025) · The Long Walk (2025) · Americana (2023)
More comedy: The Eagle (1925) · The General (1926) · Americana (2023) · The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988)
More action: A Better Tomorrow (1986) · The General (1926) · Hand of Death (1976) · Daredevil (2003)
