The Collection:

During its heyday, Jackass was as close to having a TV show that was full-blown unhinged, subversive, and fascinating performance art. Or, it was a dumb TV show about a bunch of morons doing incredibly stupid things for our enjoyment, the modern equivalent of a carnival freak show. No matter how you dice it, one thing was for sure, it was a lot of fun to experience it. You always wanted to look away, but you couldn't avert your eyes either.

This collection of DVDs basically repackages the exact same previously available discs of the Jackass experience over the last two decades. It's not really a "complete" collection, since what we get from the series is a quadrilogy of DVDs compiling the gags and stunts the team deemed to be their best. Complete or not, this set definitely brings back the nostalgia of watching a bunch of idiot stuntmen getting kicked in the crotch over and over again.

Then we get the post-show movies, all three of them, as well as the .5 entries of movies 2 and 3, which compiled outtakes into brand new features. These movies are close to each other in quality and serving the proper expectations. Not trying to cram in any pesky plot or characters, the gang just delivers the same old stunts, only raunchier and grosser, as they were completely unchained from their basic cable confines. My favorite among them is 2, since it seems to be the most jam-packed out of the group. 3 is fine, but it was obviously made for a 3D theatrical experience. A lot of the gags are supposed to be fully gross and crude in 3D, so it gets a bit lost in translation in 2D. The inclusion of Bad Grandpa baffles me a bit. It's more of a Johnny Knoxville production, and tries to insert a generic plot amongst the candid camera gags. It doesn't really fit this set.

The DVDs:

Video:

This is one of those sets that might be better in standard definition, since you really don't want to see the gross details of various body parts and bodily fluids that spray the lens. The transfers across the box set are fine, and I especially love the crude gonzo look of the original show. Upconverted to Blu-ray, it would have lost that edge.

Audio:

The audio ranged from regular stereo of early 2000s TV sound to full-fledged 5.1 mixes found in the movies. Yet the focus is on the realism of the stunts, so the casual aspect of the sound design captured faithfully is all one can ask for.

Extras:

Since the discs are exactly the same, check out the extras outlined in previous reviews:

Jackass

The Lost Tapes

Jackass The Movie

Jackass 2

Jackass 2.5

Jackass 3

Jackass 3.5

Bad Grandpa

Bad Grandpa .5

Final Thoughts:

For this price, this "complete" Jackass experience is a steal. Don't expect literally anything new from this box, but enjoy the culmination of two decades of wanton stupidity and recklessness nevertheless.

Oktay Ege Kozak is a film critic and screenwriter based in Portland, Oregon. He also writes for The Playlist, The Oregon Herald, and Beyazperde.com