I know, I know. It is absolute blasphemy to reboot The Toxic Avenger. We’ve got the original film and four sequels, plus The Toxic Crusaders animated series. But let me tell you something about Macon Blair’s movie. It’s better than the original film. And it’s not particularly close.
The Toxic Avenger has been through hell and back since it debuted at movie festivals in 2023. It took forever to find a home for a distributor, but now we’re getting the film in all of its gooey glory. This movie follows the same story as the original, but instead of a nerdy mop boy falling into a vat of toxic waste, it’s Winston Gooze, a janitor for an amalgamation of the worst possible corporations. Gooze is played by Peter Dinklage and he lives with his stepson, Wade (played by Jacob Tremblay). There’s a plot with resistance types led by JJ (played by Taylour Paige) against Bob Garbinger (played by Kevin Bacon). Garbinger is surrounded by yes people and has a creepy brother named Fritz (played by Elijah Wood) that he uses to do his bidding.
Winston gets wrapped up in the plot to expose Garbinger’s company and ends up being shot accidentally by Fritz’s bad guys. They toss him into a vat of toxic waste, and we’re off.
But what really sets The Toxic Avenger apart from the original and makes this a better film? Let’s find out with the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of The Toxic Avenger.
The Good Of The Toxic Avenger
Starting off with a small detail about The Toxic Avenger, but the soundtrack is absolutely smashing. There’s some great punk, metal, rock, and other songs here that are absolutely pumping, including a big section themed around Motorhead’s “Overkill”.
But what really makes the movie special is the reverence that it has for the original, while making itself its own thing. The original Troma film is a classic for a reason, but it’s layered in ’80s feelings that might not register with modern audiences. This new film captures that energy and modernizes it to great effect. You really feel for Winston and Peter Dinklage does an excellent job giving the character some real humanity. He’s just a dad trying to live his life and connect with his stepson. As the film goes on, especially with Dinklage’s voice performance (he isn’t actually in the Toxie suit, give Luisa Guerreiro her flowers). Their two performances combine to make the best that Toxie has ever looked and sounded on screen.
The effects here, especially the gross-out gore effects when Toxie is swinging his mop around are amazing. Macon Blair understood the assignment when it comes to how this movie should feel. If Lloyd Kaufman is passing the mop to someone at Comic-Con, you know its the right choice.
The commentary on our daily lives, including that of corporations, insurance, and just how we treat the environment, are also top notch. When Dinklage is dealing with doctors who are morons or insurance companies, you can feel the emotion, but also laugh at how over the top it is.
More Good Of The Toxic Avenger
Macon Blair captures a beautiful and well-shot movie with cinematographer Dana Gonzales. The whole thing looks beautiful, especially considering the budget of the film.
But really what caught me was the heart of the film. It might be about a gross superhero figure but Toxie has plenty of heart. The performances outside of Toxie are also noteworthy. Kevin Bacon is slimy, disgusting, and captures the tech bro/corporate douche role perfectly. Elijah Wood calls back to the essence of Kevin from Sin City, but with something else bubbling underneath. Jacob Tremblay’s Wade might be the only normal person in the entire film, but he’s great in the time he’s given, especially his dance scene.
The Bad And Ugly Of The Toxic Avenger
The seams with the beauty of the film do show a bit with some of the effects though. You can pretty easily tell when something turns from a normal physical effect to a digital thing. That really is the only thing I can complain about with The Toxic Avenger. It takes you a bit out of the experience as you’re watching it.
But other than that, there’s not much else to complain about when it comes to Toxie. The film captures the feeling of the original but modernizes it and gives it new life for audiences to enjoy. Macon Blair and Co have crafted the next generation of Toxie and it’s glorious.
The Toxic Avenger releases in theaters on August 29th.
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