This is gonna be a review where the subtitle of the movie is gonna make it sound much worse than it actually is. If you are someone that goes into one of these movies looking for nothing but laughs, stunts, and your favorite MTV cast and crew putting each other up with extraordinary pain for sh*s and giggles, you will get plenty of that with Jackass: Best & Last. However, if you are someone that is looking for brand NEW stunts, brand NEW laughs, and brand NEW ways of your favorite MTV cast and crew putting up with extraordinary pain for sh*s and giggles, you will likely be disappointed here.
Jackass: Best & Last is not so much it’s own complete Jackass movie as much as it is a full presentation special for Paramount Plus with a bunch of deleted scenes from the other Jackass movies shoehorned in. Whether this became a theatrical release because Johnny Knoxville and company couldn’t bear the thought of saying goodbye to his franchise on a streaming service or to follow through on David Ellison’s ill-conceived promise of releasing 30 films a year once it snatches up Warner Bros Discovery is beyond me, but you will find yourself with just as much laughs and giggles looking up Jackass YouTube videos or watching any other Jackass film on Paramount Plus than you would watching Jackass: Best & Last in theaters.
I have no doubt Jackass means much to this cast and crew, especially if putting up with over 25 years of taking shots to the nuts and getting a million different concussions until you’re 50 is anything to go by (which, YES that infamous part of the Jackass Forever trailer DOES get brought back here). And to the film’s credit, the opening sequence with Johnny performing his very first stunt and the end credits that acts as a tribute to the history of Jackass is very well done, making for the only times where bringing back certain scenes from the other movies is justified (Other than that one bit taken out of Bad Grandpa of course! A.K.A. Easily the best of the Jackass franchise).
The rest of the film is either a compilation of cut out stunts from the other Jackass movies that never should’ve been cut out in the first place, member-barries that references other jokes and sequences in this franchise that you’ve already seen before, and new stunts and sequences that don’t feel as fresh because it involves our cast and crew who are clearly growing out their roles of taking so much hurt to their bodies. I certainly did get some laughs along the way but I could have easily gotten as much by just watching other Jackass videos or popping up any other Jackass movie.
I’m not gonna act like every Jackass movie is a masterpiece, except for Bad Grandpa (That is as much of a comedic masterpiece as it gets, but at least each one offers fresh perspectives while unlocking new, creative, and downright STUPID ways of making you belly chuckle and get tears out of you from laughter. Jackass: Best & Last seems to just exist to get one last nostalgic dollar out of you before Johnny, Steve-0, Chris, and Wee-Man become too crippled to even imaging doing dangerous stunts out of a wheel chair.
I get that these guys are getting old and have their limits now but if that was the case, this could’ve easily worked wonders as either a tv special on MTV and/or a streaming special for Paramount Plus. It would given these guys the right amount of length to do their stunts without going too overlong over it and would have easily killed it in the ratings. But because these flicks are as cheap as they come, squeezing in a few extra bucks wouldn’t hurt. Which, hey, in this day and age, I ain’t complaining about theaters getting more movies to play that people want to see but it certainly doesn’t help in the case of Jackass: Best & Last.
Although this is ultimate a negative review for me, I don’t have any strong emotions or ill will to Jackass that this mid final installment will have a lasting impact on me for the near future. Johnny and friends clearly have had the time of their lives putting through pain and scrutiny just for our own amusement. Even if that is incredibly dumb, I tip my caps to them for having the literal balls to go through all of that. However for me, when it comes to Jackass, I’ll just pop in Bad Grandpa and call it a day!
The pre-orders for GTA VI are FINALLY here! After what has seemed like the better part of forever, players and gamers all around globe can at long last pre-order their copy of the most anticipated video game in well over a decade, if not of all time! With all this momentum and hype that has been building since GTA V came out in 2013, you would think that the release of GTA VI could redefine pop culture in a way that hasn’t been seen since at least Avengers: Endgame in 2019. Even with all the chaos and mayhem that is going on in the world in the year 2026, you would expect that Rockstar Games would be doing everything in their power to make GTA VI the biggest and most unifying moment in gaming history. And now that we have pre-order sales that is well underway, what could POSSIBLY go wrong?! Well, quite a lot actually!
Earlier this week, Rockstar announced that GTA VI would be getting two separate additions: the standard edition for $79.99 & the ultimate edition for $99.99. It was also stated that the game would received both digital and “physical” editions (there’s a reason I put the latter with parenthesis. You’ll find out why in just a moment!). The digital edition gives you the option between the main standard edition, which unlocks the main campaign of the game, and the ultimate edition, which gives you access to in-game clothing, hairstyles, locations, missions, tattoos, vehicles, and weapons, while all preorders receive the Vintage Vice City Pack, featuring in-game items inspired by GTA: Vice City. Both versions you can begin downloading on November 12th, in preparation for the game’s full release on November 19th. However, the physical edition doesn’t include a separate ultimate edition of the game but only the standard edition+ a few pre-order bonuses that come with it.
Oh, and although it comes with it’s own case that includes the box art on the cover, you only get a downloadable code in it and NOT a disc!
In case you need that last part read out loud to you, here you go again! The physical edition will NOT include a disc of the game, ONLY a downloadable code for it! You just heard me right there, right?!
Once again, the most anticipated video game of all time will NOT have a disc of what is suppose to be part of the PHYSICAL edition of the game, ONLY a mere code you can start downloading a week in advance but have to wait seven days to actually being able to play the damn game. And if recent reports by The Hollywood Reporter are anything to go by, this is how Rockstar Games is choosing to release GTA VI, with NO plans on releasing a full disc version of the game at launch or even after it once the hype dies down.
To repeat that one more time, GTA VI will NOT have an actual physical disc! Despite this being one of the most hyped games of all time, despite this being in production for God knows how long, and despite all of the goodwill and momentum from the people at Rockstar, there will not be an actual disc that will come with GTA VI!
And keep in mind, this is NOT a game that is from an unknown property or that nobody knows if it’s going to be a big hit or not. EVERYONE is going to get this game! It will sell like HOT CAKES! It’s already making hundred to millions or even billions in pre-order sales ALONE! (It’s said to have already made over $3 billion dollars in pre-sales, with over 39 million copies already pre-ordered!)
No matter how much money Rockstar threw at this game, it is almost CERTAINLY going to make all it’s revenue back in the first week ALONE! You seriously mean to tell me you couldn’t afford to or have the human decency to release a REAL physical edition of a game that will likely go down as the most successful video game release of all time?! I’m calling bull and I’m calling s**t!
And I’m sure someone is gonna come at me with the two main excuses I keep seeing everywhere in regards to this dreadful business decision. Firstly, NO, this is NOT because there won’t be enough spaces on the discs. You can EASILY make MULTIPLE discs to give many different modes of the game the extra spaces that it needs. You can have one disc for the campaign, one disc for the bonus/DLC missions of the game, and one disc for GTA online ALONE! You can certainly use three discs to cover ALL of that and more while making the game function just fine. While updating each one would be a mild annoyance and a bit of patience, it would be worth it just as long as the game still plays strongly.
And secondly, NO, this is NOT done in order to prevent early leaks of the game. Even taking into the fact that game has been facing leaks for over the past FIVE years, everyone is going to get this game regardless of what gets spoiled online. While I’m sure there are plenty of people that will be invested in the main campaign and what happens to our two main leads in Lucia and Jason, there’s MANY that play GTA for two other main reasons: to interact with their friends through the online mode and to just f**k s**t up whenever they feel like it (I can’t tell you how many hours I wasted on GTA V just blowing stuff up and shooting people just to get to five stars!). You really expect me to believe that a game THIS massive could lose all that money in pre-sales just because a couple of spoilers got leaked online early?! Of course not!
The real reason for this cynical move is yet again modern gaming developers wanting to take ownership out of the hands of gamers everywhere and making it to where THEY can control the new games that you play. All you have to do is look at all of the unlockable content that you can only get at launch if you chose to buy the $100 version and NOT the $80 version and the fact that you will not be able to own a proper disc of the game, only a mere downloadable code. Do you really think this move was made in regards to just preventing leaks and reduce reselling? I think you know the answer to that question and so do I!
This all leads to a dark and haunting road that the gaming industry is headed in, where physical media is on it’s way out and that the only way to purchase a game is through digital. And I’m sure those out there that are not a physical media collector and prefers to buy their games through online shops and services such as PlayStation Plus, Xbox Gaming Pass, and Nintendo E-shop, you might wonder what the big deal is? After all, the majority of games nowadays are purchased through digital media and NOT physical. It’s just a change in the times we’re living in and is the industry evolving in ways that we just can’t go back to. Well, to those people, I should also share a story that broke out about Sony deleting over 500+ movies from PlayStation service through customer accounts.
That’s right! Just a few days ago, Sony had deleted over 551 movies from player accounts and they are all gone from their services forever. Regardless of if you paid full prices for it or not, those movies you purchased through PlayStation are gone and there’s NOTHING you can do about. You can’t get a refund for it or some version of that movie back. That is just 20 to 30 bucks or however much you purchase on digital movies flushed down the drain and you have nothing. And if you think gaming companies won’t fall into those footsteps and decide to take digital games off their services whenever they want to, I got a bridge to sell to you.
Granted, there have been MANY different occasions in the past where a company would respond to backlash of consumers whenever they pull a very cynical move that’s all for business and greed and they would eventually change course to satisfy their consumers. For example, when the Xbox One originally was showcased in 2013 and promised baffling stuff like online check-ups, DRM restrictions, and preventing you from actually fully owning their games or sharing them with your friends and family, the players lashed out and demanded better from Xbox. And guess what? They GOT it! Microsoft eventually caved and removed all of that crap they were trying to forced down everybody’s throats with the Xbox One. If a company feels like controversy is so overwhelming that it’s gonna tank their brand, they will pull a complete 180 and changed what they can to avoid any potential major losses.
Unfortunately, I don’t see Rockstar making that exact decision here. The main reason being that you already have millions upon MILLIONS of gamers out there that are going to buy GTA VI no matter what! As I mention, it has already sold over 40 million copies and made over 3 billion dollars in pre-sales ALONE! Unless there is a strong desire for the majority that pre-order game to just cancel all of their pre-orders to make a statement to Rockstar that is not acceptable, I don’t see any major changes happening. Even with the reports of many stores that refuse to sell GTA VI because the physical versions won’t include a disc, they can EASILY make up for any potential lose revenues with the $80-$100 price tags through digital. It’s business, greed, and capitalism at it’s absolute finest and Rockstar can EASILY get away with it.
For those that are digital collectors with their movies, shows, songs, books, and games that they buy, I do hope this is a least one giant WAKE-UP call for you to start taking physical media a little more seriously. Because as it’s been said many times before, you buy something with a full disc, it will 100% belong to you FOREVER! No ifs or buts about it! That’s why I and many others out there act in complete horror at this story. The horror that we are losing our ownership and security over the things we buy. The horror that a company can EASILY take something you already bought away from you whenever they feel like that. The horror that just the mere though of being able to physically own a copy of your favorite movie, show, song, book, and video game is slipping away with every single passing day.
That’s why there has been a stronger push for physical media in recent years. That’s why you are hearing reports about Gen Z beginning to abandon digital and streaming altogether because they actually like to physically own the things they love. Whenever people buy something, they want to be able to own it until the end of time. They don’t want to spend so much money on something with the thought of it getting taking away from them someday. Physical media matters and I don’t think there has been a recent example that showcases that more than with GTA VI.
The only positive I can possibly get out of the way Rockstar has completely BUTCHERED the release of GTA VI is maybe this will finally be a wake-up call for everyone to take physical media seriously. Perhaps this will empower players and gamers all across the world to invest more in physical media than ever before with the video games they buy. If Gen Z is making a statement that they want physical media to still be a thing, the rest of the world should join together with them for that exact same reason.
My advice to everyone is whenever there’s a new game, movie, book, or album that comes out and there’s an option for a physical copy of it, invest in the physical copies more times than not. Send a message to companies that we will no longer tolerate the complete erasure of physical ownership and demand that they give us the full and complete version of what they are selling. If not, then stop buying from them altogether until they can promise not to scam us and gives us everything they are selling.
This might legit be the final stand to preserve whatever future of physical media remains but let’s NOT go out without a fight. Even in the age of physical media is over, let’s preserve what we can so we can lead to some sort of future where physical media still remains a thing and will ALWAYS be an option. Digital media will always have it’s place but physical media will ALWAYS be timeless. And unless Rockstar is able to get that exact memo before November, GTA VI will be dead on arrival for many players out there!
On the plus side, three cheers for Insomniac to actually given Marvel’s Wolverine…..an actual disc!
Gen Z gets a lot of flack nowadays. From spending 99.99% of their free time on the internet instead of at malls to inventing corny slangs and memes that everyone IMMEDIATELY becomes addicted to making sure you are held accountable for EVERY single thing you have said in the past 25 years and to NEVER be forgiven for it, they really have changed the way everyone has gone on about their social and cultural lifestyles for quite some time. However, every once in a while, they can be kinda badass. In this case, they are doing everything in their power to bring back proper physical media.
Having getting sick and tired of streaming platforms getting more expensive every year and removing beloved content on their service every now and then for effectively no reason, Gen Z (and pretty much everyone else) are taking matter into their own hands. Instead of waiting for their favorite movie or show to come out on whatever streaming service they use or their favorite singer or musician to release their latest album digitally, they are now seeking out hardcore physical copies of what they want to watch or listen to. They want to actually own their personal favorite media instead of letting other companies own it for them. Gen Z is making a statement and everyone is hearing it loud and clear.
There’s been articles and reports for the last several months of DVDs, Blu-Rays, CDs, and record albums seeing a solid increase in physical media sales and a much less decrease from several years prior. Retro video stores are being resurrected and are immediately having booming business while well known businesses such as Walmart, Target, Best Buy, and Barnes and Noble who had either abandon or drastically reduced their electronic physical media sections in recent memory are looking to bring back or expand these sections, especially if this trend continues.
While this is all great and good, I think the main question everyone has is why is this all happening now? What is it about digital and streaming now that has finally broke the camel’s back among Gen Z and everyone else that it has encouraged them to take a stand and just buy physical copies of their favorite movies, shows, games, and music that they can fully own?
While I previously mentioned inflated streaming prices and favorite movies/shows getting removed left and right each month because companies just love to troll their consumers, I think it’s more because that Gen Z (or at least the older half of it) are looking to recapture that special feeling they had as kids. Just the simple feeling of being able to own your own physical copy of something, have exclusive special access of the item they own, and even be able to add that to a nice collection. Instead of just being able to watch whatever they want on their phone or laptop, they feel like getting a full complete version of their entertainment along with extra bonuses that come along with it that you can fully watch on your own television is how you get your full money’s worth.
While there are always posts every now and then on Twitter/X about Gen Z never being able to experience the same magic that Millennials and Baby boomers did with physical stores and owning physical media, there actually is a good chunk of them that have already done just that. Gen Z literally advocates from those that were born between the years of 1997-2012, with Zillenials (a mix between Gen Z and Millennial, mostly those born in the mid to late 1990s) and Gen Alpha (Born from 2010-2024) being thrown in there for good measure. So for those that were born in the late 1990s to the early or mid 2000s, they basically got to experience that same warm feeling of owning the movie, show, game, or CD that you love literally when they were young children. Heck, even a handful of individuals got a glimpse of that among the last wave of it in the mid 2010s.
It’s only when digital and streaming started to dominate the entertainment landscape in the late 2010s that everyone began to take physical media for granted. You didn’t need to own any physical copies of whatever you watch, play, or listen to when you have a streaming service that will do it for you or you can just purchase it and watch it online on your computer from the comfort of your own homes. Plus, it’s cheaper just to pay 10 bucks a month or 15 bucks for digital to watch your favorite thing multiple times than paying 20 to 25 bucks to own a physical copy.
This cultural shift from the past 10 years really started to take a big hit on big physical media companies such as Walmart, Target, Best Buy, and especially Red Box (RIP!) and the big major entertainment studios began to create their own answers to Netflix, resulting in the likes of streaming services such as Disney Plus, HBO Max (or whatever it’s called now), Hulu, Peacock, Apple TV, Paramount Plus, and several others. Because of that, more focus was put on digital and streaming and less on the likes of physical media and cable/satellite television. However, things are starting to change.
People have become increasingly frustrated with the amount of streaming services they have to keep up with to watch their favorite movie or show. People are sick to death of streaming services taken away content they like watching for no reason and only bringing it back whenever the company feels like it. And of course, people are growing pure annoyance on monthly subscriptions fees going up every single year, with more ads and freeze ups being added in for dreadful measure. Because of that, everyone is just wanting to go back to simpler times, back when you can actually own something and physically own it for all eternity with no one stopping you. Such a novel concept in this day and age, isn’t it?
Granted, we are still a little while away before physical media becomes ANYWHERE near as dominant as it was throughout the 1990s to early 2010s and we probably will never reach THAT level of peak every again. Digital and streaming is always going to have a major presence and will still be a preferred preference for a good chunk of people out there. It also remains to be seen if this physical media shift will go towards the likes of gaming, especially considering how ridiculous expensive video games and consoles has gotten in recent memory. And I don’t even need to mention how your average lazy Joe would much prefer to do their daily shopping online on Amazon than dragging his butt out to Walmart. However, this is a sign that the way we consume our favorite entertainment is changing just as it did around this time ten years ago. The difference is this time, I think this change will be for the greater good for the future.
Between resurrecting physical media and being the main dominant driving force of the movie theater going experience, i seems like Gen Z is just looking to have fun again and enjoy entertainment in the way that the older half of their demographic strongly remembers them doing back in the “good old days”. Whether it’s because of inflated streaming prices or finally wanting to come out of their rooms in a post-covid world and talk to someone other than their AI chatbot buddy, this is strongly encouraging of for the future of not just what we physically own but also potentially the way we socially interacted with one another in the near future. Although the current generation leading the charge can give themselves the bad reputation, it’s always nice to see them do some genuine good.
And I should know because I’m technically apart of that generation (I still lean towards Zillennial, goddamn it!)
Now, if Gen Z can please resurrect cable and satellite television already so I no longer have to own 10 different streaming services to watch my favorite sports teams! Please and thank you!
Adam's Blog 