I'll try not to emotionally wound my fellow millennials by reminding everyone that it's been over 40 years since the original 1984 film, The Toxic Avenger, hit the screens. Lloyd Kaufman's strange and unabashed anti-superhero film hit right in the heart of the 1980s, playing with the subversion of heroes and slasher conventions a little before Batman, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, or Howard the Duck. Initially compared more to its slasher predecessors, the film became a hit with midnight moviegoers, spawning a slew of sequels and, now, a shiny new remake.
Borrowing more from later subversive superhero films and fewer from earlier horror favorites, this new Toxic Avenger film retains all the midnight movie charm, albeit with less impact. Peter Dinklage stars in this film as Winston Gooze, a down-on-his-luck janitor struggling to raise his stepson, keep his job, and manage a potentially fatal diagnosis. After being fired by his company's eccentric CEO (Kevin Bacon), Gooze is driven insane, leading him to a secret slime that grants him superhuman abilities. Determined to exact revenge, eager to protect his son, and working with a cunning and unlikely colleague to dismantle the evil wellness company that wronged him, the newly minted "Toxie" moves around with his radioactive mop and wins the hearts of many.
Director: Macon Blair
Writers: Macon Blair, Lloyd Kaufman, Joe Ritter
Stars: Peter Dinklage, Jacob Tremblay, Taylour Paige
Directed by Macon Blair (of "I Don't Feel Home in This World Anymore"), The Toxic Avenger delves into the superhero and noir pastiche of the late 1980s and early 1990s, often evoking Dick Tracy, a Grant Morrison Batman comic, or even a Zack Snyder classic. Falling into the mud immediately stirred feelings of that era, and Blair was right to leverage it for this retro remake that feels cobbled together from clips of films released closer to the sequel era. There's no shortage of style in this gory grindhouse film festival, but perhaps there are a few too many attempts at substance.
The Toxic Avenger is a highly stylized Troma feast wrapped in a woefully convoluted and poorly structured plot. There are too many villains and would-be good guys fighting their own battles, and Toxie becomes a man on the run too quickly to ever truly become the hero. Too many characters have their heroic moments for Toxie to truly shine, beyond some heartbreaking deaths and a great nod to the fast-food beating of the original.
Those who gravitated to the shock of the original will now be left with pee and penis jokes instead of the irreverence of things like killing children on bicycles for no reason. The biggest flaw lies in Gooze's docility, who, from the outset, isn't pathetic enough to pave his way to glory. He's always a good guy who helps others, and we never see him suffer more than a dad in a '90s sitcom. His pink tutu outfit is self-inflicted, depriving us of the poetry of his acceptance in its final form.
The new Toxic Avenger film could have been rotting on the shelf after its 2023 festival run, but now it's been microwaved and served lukewarm to audiences looking for a green-tinged midnight movie. While it's easy to see it's overdoing it, this Dinklage-led sludge-fest is a feast for the eyes that will deliver some of the laughs it seeks. It's a pleasure to watch everyone try to keep up with the madness of Kevin Bacon's standout performance, but it would have been better to see them succeed. The Toxic Avenger is a worthy entry in the Troma canon and will pay for itself if it inspires a new generation to revisit the rest.
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