I'm the exact target audience for Action Point. "Jackass" hands down my favorite television show of all time and pretty much no actor makes me laugh harder than Johnny Knoxville. The fact that writing credits for Action Point go to Mike Judge along with the creators of "Silicon Valley" and it comes from "Brockmire" director Tim Kirkby only doubled my excitement for the movie. Unfortunately, the end result is easily the most disappointing product any members of the core creative team has been involved in.
I'm not going to deny that I laughed out loud several times during Action Point. Any time Knoxville let out his trademark laugh or Chris Pontius did his weirdo schtick, I enjoyed myself. Despite not being classically trained actors, the two do have solid camera presence and seem like they could carry a movie with the right script. And to its credit, Action Point does have a pleasant tone, even if the story doesn't work. In its best moments, the movie has the same sort of laid-back, fun vibe as such classic comedies as Meatballs and Caddyshack. Knoxville and Chris "Party Boy" Pontius are so funny that they make the most of the bare-bones story. The best scenes are those in which Knoxville and Pontius are together, making Action Point feel like an unofficial "Jackass" spin-off.
At its worst, Action Point is an underwritten, haphazardly edited, and messy production that reeks of something that was drastically cut down due to poor test screenings. Perhaps there's an unrated or extended addition once the film hits DVD, because it's hard to believe this is the best possible version that was cut together.The end credits begin at the 75-minute mark and that's with the addition of several scenes featuring a drastically unnecessary framing device featuring Knoxville in unspectacular old man make-up.
At times, it's amazing that this a theatrical release. None of the characters are developed beyond anything one-dimensional despite a pretty good cast. Towards the end of the movie, Knoxville gives a speech about how the staff at how Action Point are members of his extended family, but that never really comes across in any of the previous scenes. All the scenes together just kind of drift aimlessly, without a strong sense of rhythm or purpose. The transitions from scene to scene are rough, like parts of the movie have been re-ordered in certain places. Overall, the production quality seems like something that was meant premiere on Netflix or direct-to-DVD.
Given the talent of Knoxville and Judge involved, Action Point should have been a lot stronger. Fans of "Jackass" and Knoxville's wild stunts should enjoy this as a rental, but there's nothing here that warrants anything beyond one viewing. The film was a complete flop at the box office, and it's not hard to see why. Whatever effort Knoxville and director Kirkby put towards making this a decent comedy just doesn't appear onscreen. This is the type of flick that was designed to be watched on the couch with friends and low expectations. 5/10
I'm not going to deny that I laughed out loud several times during Action Point. Any time Knoxville let out his trademark laugh or Chris Pontius did his weirdo schtick, I enjoyed myself. Despite not being classically trained actors, the two do have solid camera presence and seem like they could carry a movie with the right script. And to its credit, Action Point does have a pleasant tone, even if the story doesn't work. In its best moments, the movie has the same sort of laid-back, fun vibe as such classic comedies as Meatballs and Caddyshack. Knoxville and Chris "Party Boy" Pontius are so funny that they make the most of the bare-bones story. The best scenes are those in which Knoxville and Pontius are together, making Action Point feel like an unofficial "Jackass" spin-off.
At its worst, Action Point is an underwritten, haphazardly edited, and messy production that reeks of something that was drastically cut down due to poor test screenings. Perhaps there's an unrated or extended addition once the film hits DVD, because it's hard to believe this is the best possible version that was cut together.The end credits begin at the 75-minute mark and that's with the addition of several scenes featuring a drastically unnecessary framing device featuring Knoxville in unspectacular old man make-up.
At times, it's amazing that this a theatrical release. None of the characters are developed beyond anything one-dimensional despite a pretty good cast. Towards the end of the movie, Knoxville gives a speech about how the staff at how Action Point are members of his extended family, but that never really comes across in any of the previous scenes. All the scenes together just kind of drift aimlessly, without a strong sense of rhythm or purpose. The transitions from scene to scene are rough, like parts of the movie have been re-ordered in certain places. Overall, the production quality seems like something that was meant premiere on Netflix or direct-to-DVD.
Given the talent of Knoxville and Judge involved, Action Point should have been a lot stronger. Fans of "Jackass" and Knoxville's wild stunts should enjoy this as a rental, but there's nothing here that warrants anything beyond one viewing. The film was a complete flop at the box office, and it's not hard to see why. Whatever effort Knoxville and director Kirkby put towards making this a decent comedy just doesn't appear onscreen. This is the type of flick that was designed to be watched on the couch with friends and low expectations. 5/10