Paramount Pictures
Between 7th and 9th grade, I was obsessed with Jackass. My friends would come over after school and we would marvel over Johnny Knoxville, Bam Margera, Wee-Man, and others causing harm to themselves on MTV. When I was younger, I was much more obnoxious than I am now and spent many hours trying to recreate Jackass skits with my friends. Luckily none of us got hurt trying to jump off of the roof of our school or pushing each other down hills in shopping carts.
When I saw the first trailer for Action Point, I was immediately taken back to watching Johnny Knoxville causing harm to himself. Such scenes as him being sprayed with a hose down a water slide prompted a smile. I was ecstatic to see Action Point so much that at one point, I was anticipating it more than Avengers: Infinity War. There was just something about Action Point that had me thrilled to see it.
Action Point stars Johnny Knoxville as DC, the owner of Action Point, an amusement park with no rules and where bears roam free. Jealous of DC’s success with the park, nearby park owners want the land that DC owns for themselves. While trying to compete with new operating parks, DC also must establish a relationship with his teenage daughter when she comes to visit him for the summer from New York. The film also stars Johnny Knoxville’s Jackass co-star, Chris Pontius, who plays a stoned out best friend of DC.
Action Point boasts thin character development for the main character and supporting members. The film attempts to add depth to the characters by adding conflicting scenarios for the cast to handle. In the first act of the movie, Action Point shows off the theme park as well as ridiculous stunts that workers of the park are partaking in. While I enjoyed the crazy stunts performed, I found the lack of character development leaving me wanting more. The film and its characters never amount to much.
For a film about a park with no rules and animals running free, the energy was surprisingly low. This was due to the fact that the film offered little to no music throughout. Even when there was music, it was relatively soft and didn’t add to the chaotic scenes I was witnessing. Action Point would have benefited from a supply of loud, upbeat music to accompany the insane scenes.
Paramount Pictures
Now the movie isn’t entirely bad. The stunts that Johnny Knoxville pulls off are still to this day comedic gold. There is something about a middle-aged man causing harm to himself that I enjoy. The only scenes I laughed at were scenes where Knoxville was harmed, but still managed to keep a smile on his face. Knoxville does an amazing job playing off the pain by laughing nonstop, which makes me concerned for his well-being. His laugh throughout the years has captivated me and Action Point reminded me why I love Johnny Knoxville.
The stunts in Action Point are filmed nicely. I was expecting a little more of Johnny Knoxville participating in the stunts, but it ended up being the whole cast providing a stunt scene or two. Some stunts are reminiscent of Jackass and some are just downright lazy. You can easily point out which actors are willing to do whatever for the screen and which ones are hesitant.
Action Point was a good idea that didn’t pan out how I wanted it to. Johnny Knoxville provides the right amount of fun for the film, but it lacks story development and energy to make this a memorable film. It was nice to see Johnny Knoxville return to screen to hurt himself. I miss those days.
Action Point has a run time of 1 hour 25 minutes and is rated R for crude sexual content, language, drug use, teen drinking, and brief graphic nudity.
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