Plot: What’s it about?
Johnny Knoxville plays D.C., we meet him at the beginning of Action Point as an old man (Knoxville in disguise) telling his granddaughter the story of his amusement park. Flashback to the 1970’s, D.C. is kind of a joke. He always has a beer in his hand and is something of a slob. His estranged daughter, Boogie (Eleanor Worthington Cox) arrives in town for a visit just as a corporate park opens nearby and threatens the future of his park, which is dangerous and out of control anyhow. The gang pull some pranks and come up with antics to try and garner enough cash flow to save their beloved park before the evil corporate powers that be take over. We’ve seen this all before, and quite frankly much better. The Jackass and Bad Grandpa fans will walk away disappointed since this outing is considerably more routine and tame by comparison.
I actively avoided Action Point during its brief theatrical run, because it just looked like a lame film. The Rotten Tomatoes score didn’t help matters, but the film virtually vanished upon arrival. It seems audiences have indeed grown tired of Knoxville and his juvenile antics. The film clocks in under 80 minutes before the usual end credit bloopers, but feels much longer than that. It’s boring, by-the-numbers and just plain boring much of the time. There are pranks played amongst each other, a beer chugging bear gag and of course we get the corporate bigwig trying to shut them down. It’s nothing new, but even with the formulaic plot, I can forgive that and some of the other things if the film were the least bit amusing. Everything just feels tired and stale. I think even the diehard Jackass fans expect better at this point. Seeing characters constantly having objects thrown at or near their groin just isn’t funny anymore. Knoxville really needs to find a new angle.
Video: How’s it look?
If you can get past the movie itself, Paramount’s Blu-ray looks pretty darn good. And that’s to be expected seeing as it’s a new to Blu-ray release. The 2.39:1 AVC HD image simply sparkles from beginning to end with a rather colorful palette that’s sure to please. Then again, Knoxville is approaching 50 years old and his years of hijinks are starting to show. That and I’m not sure the detailed picture is a “good thing” in some spots. That said, the image is top notch and sure to please – providing you can make it through the 85 minutes.
Audio: How’s it sound?
The included DTS HD Master Audio 7.1 mix is surprisingly robust. I mention below about how Knoxville seems to do a lot of yelling. I don’t know if the years of his shenanigans have taken their toll on his years or his body as a whole (or both), but his speech seems to be a bit slurred as well. Either he’s perpetually drunk or he’s taken one too many hits to the head. Nevertheless, the ample sound mix has a great spacial array, surrounds add some emphasis to a few key scenes and it all makes for a great, strong-sounding track.
Supplements: What are the extras?
- Benny and the Sh*tbirds – Benny (Chris Pontius) and the gang are interviewed as they try and regale us about what it is that the shitbirds are…or do.
- Anarchy in the Amusement Park – Knoxville, who seems to be yelling at the camera (have all the stunts affected his hearing?) explains to us the origin of the script while the various producers say, amazingly with a straight face, how the park is “…all about the freedom of expression.” Right.
- Old School, Bone-Crunching Stunts – Basically a montage of all the stunts that we’ve become so accustomed to (if you’re a Jackass fan, that is) seeing Knoxville do for years. Stunt Coordinator Charles Grisham tries to add some levity to the feature.
- Drinking Beer with Grizzly Bears – I don’t know what PETA’s stance on this would be, but we get a look at some of the “wildlife” used in the film including a rather feisty squirrel, a raccoon that wouldn’t do what it’s told and snakes, monkeys and, you guessed it – bears.
- Deleted & Extended Scenes – Nine total. As one might imagine, they don’t offer a lot to the film.
- Billboard Fun
- Leave it to Me
- Animal hunt
- Porch Talk
- Mousey Brown
- Boogie is Upset
- Rescuing Boogie
- To Action Point!
- Bloopers – Two minutes of outtakes and laughing.
The Bottom Line
Lame, boring and just downright unfunny, Action Point became a chore to sit through. Even with the familiar and predictable plot, if there were laughs to be had, that would be forgiven. It’s really sad at this point to see an actor like Johnny Knoxville still resorting to this kind of juvenile humor. He needs to rethink his future career choices.
