‘Jackass: Best and Last’ Early Reviews Are Shockingly Good, and Critics Can’t Stop Laughing

Few franchises in Hollywood history have survived on pure, uncut chaos the way Jackass has. What started as an MTV phenomenon in 2000 has stretched across decades, spawning five theatrical films and turning a group of professional lunatics into unlikely cultural icons. That the series is still generating genuine critical enthusiasm in its final chapter is, in many ways, the most impressive stunt the crew has ever pulled off.

Directed once again by Jeff Tremaine and distributed by Paramount Pictures, the fifth and final installment brings back original members Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O, Chris Pontius, Wee Man, Preston Lacy, Dave England, and Danger Ehren, alongside newer additions Poopies, Zach Holmes, Jasper Dolphin, and Rachel Wolfson. The film blends brand-new stunts with archival footage, pulling from across the TV series and previous theatrical releases to serve as both a greatest-hits celebration and a genuine farewell.

Now the first wave of critical notices has arrived, and the numbers are turning heads. As reported by Rotten Tomatoes on their official account, ‘Jackass: Best and Last‘ opened its review cycle with a 92% Fresh rating on the Tomatometer based on 13 reviews.

That score puts the film in striking distance of the franchise’s best-reviewed entry and lands well above the predictions that had been circulating ahead of the embargo lift. Trading activity on prediction markets had placed the film’s expected score around 73%, with some models dipping as low as 68% before climbing back up.

For context, the previous mainline entry ‘Jackass Forever’ earned an 86% critics rating when it released in 2022, itself considered a high-water mark for the series. Earlier instalments had significantly lower scores, with ‘Jackass: The Movie’ sitting at 49%, ‘Jackass: Number Two’ at 66%, and ‘Jackass 3D’ at 67%. A 92% opening represents a remarkable upswing for a franchise that critics once dismissed almost entirely.

Variety described the film as an amusing and slightly wistful farewell, noting that every stupid, juvenile stunt is underpinned by an enduring, exhilarated disbelief from the cast that they still get to do this for a living. The review highlighted a mix of old and new material, pointing out that some of the biggest laughs still arrive from the simplest setups, while praising the film for distinguishing itself from the witless shock content that now dominates social media.

The film runs 92 minutes and carries an R rating from the MPA for extremely dangerous stunts, crude material throughout, graphic nudity, pervasive language, and sexual material. It opens in theaters on June 26, with Knoxville having already made his intentions clear on the film’s finality. In an interview with Rolling Stone, he confirmed this would be the final installment, saying it was “the natural place to end.”

The film carries an unexpected poignancy alongside the carnage, with the cast’s middle-aged bodies and the physical wear of 25 years quietly present beneath every stunt, giving ‘Jackass: Best and Last’ a bittersweet quality that no previous entry has quite managed.

Whether 92% is where the score ultimately lands as more reviews arrive remains to be seen, but for a franchise saying goodbye, the send-off is shaping up to be something special. If you grew up watching these guys absolutely destroy themselves for your amusement, does a critical validation like this change how you’re feeling about seeing them one last time?