Jackass Presents Mat Hoffman's Tribute To Evel Kneivel DVD Review

Jackass Presents Mat Hoffman’s Tribute to Evel Knievel, finds some of extreme sport’s biggest names, attempting stunts to honor the spirit of the recently deceased stunt man. Those athletes include BMX biker Mat Hoffman, who personally knew Evel Knievel when he was still alive, Travis Pastrana, Scott “Plamer” Palmer, Allen Cooke, Davin “Psycho” Halford, Trigger Gumm and “Harley Jeff Schneider. The DVD is a bare bones series of extreme stunts as the participants try to break world records on a small tract of land in Oklahoma. Unlike most stunts and stuntmen, who attempt their dangerous feats in front of an enormous audience, the bulk of these stunts were attempted with little more than colleagues and emergency services present.

The stunts attempted on the DVD include a 300-foot jump on a dirt bike by world record holder Trigger Gumm, whose previous record tops out at 277 feet. Gumm ended up having to be hospitalized the last time he attempted such a distance after nearly dying from a crash when his bike lost control on the landing ramp. Trigger must barrel down a bumpy dirt path at break neck speeds in order to hit a ramp that is no more than three feet across. Also included is an unbelievable feat of sure lunacy when Scott “Plamer” Palmer willfully leaps from an airplane without a parachute. In fact, he jumps from the plane without even a shirt on. In order to survive he must successfully reach a fellow jumper and get strapped up to him while falling toward Earth at terminal velocity.

The show comes to rather abrupt end, however, after a mishap occurs when Johnny Knoxville is convinced to attempt a back flip on a dirt bike. Knoxville who openly admits that he has never before ridden a motorcycle before is convinced that completing a back flip on a dirt bike is simple if the rider allows the bike to do all of the work. Knoxville is so bad at riding a motorcycle a fellow rider has to run along side him to get him going in the right direction. Tragedy strikes, however when Knoxville fails to complete the rotation and the motorcycle lands on him. The handlebar struck him in the crotch resulting in an excessive amount of blood loss. Knoxville is rushed to the hospital, cracking jokes the whole way there.

Jackass Presents Mat Hoffman’s Tribute to Evel Knievel is little more than a montage of stunts. There is little to no real substance in the DVD, instead it plays out more like an episode of Knoxville’s own Jackass. The stunts are pretty spectacular, but any viewer with a semblance of common sense, will find them asking, why would anyone do this?

The DVD is presented in full frame with a stereo soundtrack. The special features includes over an hour of additional footage including a featurette of Thoughts on Evel Knievel, Travis Pastrana Pit Session, and behind the scenes footage. Also included is additional footage from Johnny Knoxville’s trip to the hospital and a retrospective looking back at Mat Hoffman career. The DVD also features a tattoo montage, music videos and a photo gallery.