Publication Date: 06-26-2026

Jackass: Best and Last (2026) review

Dir. Jeff Tremaine

By: Steve Pulaski

Rating: ★★★

Having now lasted a quarter of a century and naturally evolving from a work of counterculture to being part of the mainstream culture, Jackass is such an institution that I’m sure many don’t know or forget that the original MTV show merely spanned three seasons and 25 episodes total. Its original broadcast run began in October 2000 and concluded in summer 2001, but gained notoriety being part of the network’s late-night programming block. The first film was released in 2002, and here we are in 2026, faced with the fifth and final installment of the long-running series that both celebrates its legacy and shows our favorite band of idiots performing their final stunts.

It’s crucial to understand what Jackass: Best and Last is and isn’t. “Best” in the title applies to old stunts from the original TV show, previous four movies, and even a couple never-before-seen clips. “Last” applies to a gaggle of new footage filmed exclusively for the movie. At 92 minutes, I’d surmise that about 45-50 minutes is devoted to new material. If you’re a hardcore fan of the series like me, you probably won’t balk at the opportunity to see a retrospect on the big screen. Hell, last year, I made it a priority to catch Jackass 3D in theaters for the 15th anniversary re-release.

We should count our blessings that the Jackass crew — led by their fearless, wise-cracking captain Johnny Knoxville — is not only mostly still with us, but also able-bodied enough in their late 40s/early 50s to go out with one last ride. Best and Last brings the original gang of Steve-O, Chris Pontius, Jason “Wee Man” Acuña, Preston Lacy, Dave England, and “Danger” Ehren McGhehey back into the fold along with Poopies, Zach Holmes, Jasper Dophin, Jasper’s father “Dark Shark,” and Rachel Wolfson, the newcomers who were introduced in Jackass Forever. Archival footage reacquaints us with Ryan Dunn, who passed away in 2011, and Bam Margera — who remains estranged from the crew. We even get to see Margera’s contributions to the “Silence of the Lambs” stunt from Jackass Forever, which was recorded before he was publicly fired from the production but previously unreleased.

The film is very much a “Greatest Hits” compilation, opening with Knoxville’s first stunt in which he shoots himself in the chest while wearing a Kevlar vest padded with Playboy magazines. It was so long ago, he’s referred to as “PJ” by his friends (Knoxville’s real name is Philip John Clapp). What began as some stunt-work for Jeff Tremaine’s skateboarding magazine Big Brother and its accompanying home video series evolved into something spectacularly stupid and endlessly watchable.

From there, the opening introduction involves the characters maneuvering what looks to be an escape room filled with booby traps, an anti-gravitational pull, and a rolling floor, scored to Bonnie Tyler’s “Holding Out for a Hero” to assure you get hyped. The new bits do their part in shining light on how the priorities of the crew have shifted due to their age. Steve-O gets a prostate exam by a robot named Larry, and later, four of them suck down the disgusting beverage that aids in flushing out your system prior to a colonoscopy before indulging in a game of Twister. Meanwhile, Poopsies treats himself to lip injections, Zach Holmes is suspended naked in mid-air for a cheeky game show, and Steve-O is hellbent on winning the “MVP” for the fifth and final movie. Sadly, once again, Rachel Wolfson is relegated to being a background presence for most stunts. In fact, I don’t think she’s involved in a single one besides the aforementioned intro. Absent too is Eric Manaka, who was introduced in Jackass Forever.

What an emotional week at the movie theater it’s been for me, with Toy Story 5 rattling my emotions and Jackass: Best and Last causing me to drop some tears during the end credits (Roger Alan Wade’s song didn’t help matters). What a time to be alive when the fifth installment of two iconic franchises hit theaters simultaneously and both reward their legion of fans something to be excited about. I’ve been a Jackass fan since I was a child. “Him and his friends are gonna hit each other in the nuts anyway, what’s the big deal?,” was my mother’s response to my father, who questioned whether or not eight-year-old Steve should be watching such degeneracy on TV. Sure, Best and Last might play more like one of the series’ direct-to-video “.5” installments than a complete feature, but to see the perfect encapsulation of “guys being dudes” married with the kind of inclusive, male-bonding that this series has been predicated on from the jump on the big screen is an absolute delight.

My review of Jackass 3D
My review of Jackass Forever
My review of Jackass 4.5

Starring: Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O, Chris Pontius, Jason “Wee Man” Acuña, Preston Lacy, Dave England, Ehren McGhehey, Sean “Poopies” McInerney, Zach Holmes, Jasper Dolphin, Rachel Wolfson, Compston “Dark Shark” Wilson, Paul Walter Hauser, Adam Ray, and Jeff Tremaine. Directed by: Jeff Tremaine.