‘The Toxic Avenger’ Movie Review [Beyond Fest 2023]: A Not-So-Toxic Avenger Gets the Remake Treatment
Photo from Legendary Entertainment
From Jeff Nelson
Michael Herz and Lloyd Kaufman’s The Toxic Avenger leaned into its own absurdity in 1984, developing a loyal cult following that continues to embrace the B-movie campiness to come from Troma Entertainment. Filmmaker and actor Macon Blair brings his own affection for the scrappy storytelling that delights itself in comedic distastefulness and shock value in the form of a reboot that reimagines the story at its core.
Janitor Winston Gooze (Peter Dinklage) keeps his head down at work and against local baddies, while trying to form a bond with his step-son, Wade (Jacob Tremblay). When he’s diagnosed with a terminal illness, he seeks help from his power-hungry BTH employer, Bob Garbinger (Kevin Bacon), who refuses to help pay for the expensive treatments. Winston’s plan to rob the company backfires, resulting in his submersion in a vat of toxic waste, transforming him into a deformed creature with superhuman abilities. He decides to use them to fight back against corruption and evil.
Blair’s screenplay changes the point-of-view from an adolescent one to that of a full-grown man, abandoning Melvin’s (Mark Torgl) yearning for attention from the cruel popular girls. He approaches The Toxic Avenger with an additional layer of commentary on capitalism, consumerism, and corruption, with a soft father-son story at its core. There are only a few of these scenes to develop their detached connection after the death of Wade’s mother, which isn’t enough time to develop the emotional connection it seeks to achieve.
Alongside a familial story and a crime-fighting narrative is an investigative one. J.J. Doherty (Taylour Paige) seeks to put together the evidence to take down BTH, which Bob is willing to do anything to stop. Winston and J.J. are the central duo, traveling through the film’s most absurd set pieces together. Together, they share the script’s best gags, aside from the frequent use of off-screen ADR and minor jokes that actually warrant the biggest laughs.
The Toxic Avenger tones down the derogatory humor a bit, but it still goes hard on the violence. There’s a blend of practical effects and CGI to bring these scenes to life, spreading plenty of gore and guts across the screen. The hero carries a toxic mop with an upgrade from the original, serving as the primary weapon of destruction.
Blair brings a star-studded cast aboard, who deliver personality to the remake. Dinklage is a solid Winston, navigating the tone quite well. Paige is The Toxic Avenger’s secret weapon, playing the humor with a deadpan delivery that simply works. Bacon embraces the story’s ludicrousness with glee. However, Tremblay and Elijah Wood are wasted talent on the screen.
The Toxic Avenger is a remake that foolishly tries to reimagine Toxie’s story by grounding the story’s ridiculousness in an underbaked father-son story, while concocting lesser versions of scenes from the original. Blair clearly has a passion for the IP, as well as filmmaking as a whole, but this interpretation of the mop-wielding hero is lacking.
Rating: 2/5
The Toxic Avenger played Beyond Fest 2023 on September 30th, 2023.
