Troma Entertainment reached its peak in the era of video stores with movies full of color, violence, and bad taste like Class of Nukem High, Sgt. Kabukiman NYPD, and The Toxic Avenger which was its best movie. However, once in a while, this independent film production company manages to strike gold. But their latest version of The Toxic Avenger isn’t one of them though it is produced by Dune and Legendary Studios under MonsterVerse partnership and not a Remake as claimed by Peter Dinklage the main star. Nevertheless, there are still some good components amidst all this radioactive sludge that can ensure a well-rounded story.
The narrative sees Dinklage playing Winston whose role is to be an understanding step-dad for Wade his young boy played by Jacob Tremblay. Outside the house Things aren’t quite so simple for Winston who is a janitor at BTH corporation attempting to keep everything clean after losing Wade’s mother without providing any details about what happened. All this changes when he learns about the mysterious brain issue he has developed which will eventually kill him before he spends even 12 months.
This might sound like much set up for a movie that eventually turns Winston into a superhuman who crushes evil-doers but that because it is indeed much exposition. And there’s more: It takes quite some time before anything actually happens in The Toxic avenger. Not to say it finds its feet when it gets there would be overly generous but at least things start to get better.
When the bloodshed goes practical together with mutilation then the film becomes really enjoyable! In efforts to save his son, Toxie whom fans also refer as “Toxic Avenger” tears through bad guys; however after that he stumbles into bigger conspiracy between BTH Company and mafia linked to BTH rebel employee turned vigilante J.J.Doherty(Taylour Paige). As things heat up, so does the death rate but some of the key scenes had CGI blood that didn’t work. The thing is: CGI blood never looks good, and it looks especially terrible compared to everything else in The Toxic Avenger, which is otherwise practical mayhem. Moreover, this move is perplexing since it would have cost more – considering that it’s hard to believe most of the film’s budget wasn’t blown on an unexpectedly stacked cast.
J.J. and Wade are welcome additions to Toxie’s world, playing the proverbial straight men amidst the tutu-clad, mop-swinging crime fighter and Kevin Bacon’s evil CEO Bob Garbinger. This pair of hero and villain plays well off each other with Dinklage and Bacon clearly having fun with Macon Blair’s silly-filled script as evident from their performances. Elijah Wood also stars as Bob Garbinger’s brother Fritz – a henchman who resembles both The Penguin and Gollum. Even Jane Lynch makes a cameo appearance; she starred alongside Wood in Blair’s previous feature I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore.
Shifts from Troma’s usually do it yourself films to have memorable faces in them is always a welcome change, but that extra budget sometimes makes the film look like they are trying to make it “so bad that it’s good”. And those can’t be done on purpose. Besides, much of the weirdness in The Toxic Avenger does not hit and most of its jokes fall flat. For instance, Winston’s doctor seems like a poor imitation of 30 Rocks’ Dr. Leo Spaceman. This feels like Legendary production decided to dress up as a Troma film for Halloween as a joke – despite longtime Troma fan Blair and the studio’s founder, Lloyd Kaufman being part of this.
Nevertheless, there is something heartening about The Toxic Avenger: It is ultimately just about one man attempting to win back his child. Well maybe he murders someone every now and then but all this happens while protecting either himself or his family members. All right so perhaps that one dude was simply an unmitigated ass. Yet if you were shot and dumped into toxic waste, becoming some kind of lumpy freak with super strength and piss dissolving everything around you would likely leave you pretty surly! Its cast performances, mostly excellent effects and the depth behind its story make this picture lovely enough to be viewed by many people though perhaps not for eternity like the original with an extra six million dollars behind it.
Judgment
The “not remake” of The Toxic Avenger 2023 by Troma with Legendary turns out as mixed plate. Nonetheless, Director Macon Blair may have more money at his disposal than Michael Herz and Lloyd Kaufman had when making their 1984 original but its doesn’t deliver the way other schlocky classics by Troma do. In place of such so-bad-it-is-good banality though it has feeling at heart and largely practical bloodbaths. Then again Kevin Bacon and Peter Dinklage appear to be having a ball with their parts.
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