The Toxic Avenger

A remake that neither replicates nor ignores the original. Plenty of knowing jokes (New Chem High School, the St Roma's Village location, with both esses faded) and an opening animation that will feel familiar.

Peter Dinklage and Kevin Bacon having the time of their lives; Jacob Tremblay and Taylor Paige a solid rhythm section; but Elijah Wood in a sadly derivative role (Penguin / Minions bad guy). A band of musician assassins - think Insane Clown Posse / Slipknot - provide slapstick, and a subplot involving the primary villain being in hock to worse villains was entertaining.

No real attempt at moral nuance or intellectual rigour - I loved the doctor explaining the technical stuff - but great fun and well worth the time and ticket money.

All of last year, I was certain that this movie wasn't ever going to be released and that was a disappointing notion. When I found out that it was going to be released in theaters unrated, I perked up.

I wouldn't say this was a hugely anticipated movie for me but I was excited. I just saw it a few hours ago and I've gotta say that it's just barely above average. The biggest problem with this movie is that a huge majority of the jokes in this movie fall flat and leave an awkward impression. It also didn't help that the tone and pacing for this movie was an absolute mess as well.

That being said, I was never bored or put off by the film. There's an amazing display of gore (even if it's hugely CGI) and sight gags as well. The whole cast also hams it the hell up which is a big plus.

I didn't hate the new Toxic Avenger but it's definitely nothing special.

C+

There are few movie characters who embody the role of "underdog" as fully as the Toxic Avenger. A lowly janitor at a chemical facility who is thrown into the slime by his nefarious bosses, he emerges as a mutant with superhuman strength and a glowing mop which is able to corrode human skin on contact.

A remake of the surprise 1984 hit from Troma Studios, this film is nothing if not inspirational. Peter Dinklage is mesmerizing in the title role, particularly in the early scenes before he is transformed into the creature. I can't help thinking that his performance was subdued by the heavy prosthetic make-up he wears in the later scenes. Also outstanding are Kevin Bacon as the scheming boss at the chemical plant and Elijah Wood as his creepy brother - who reminded me of the character of Riff Raff from The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

I liked this movie even more than I thought I would. I saw the originals when I was a kid but I barely remember them other than the fact that they were a goofy, bloody, and corny good time. And so thats all I was pretty much needing with this new version. Not hard to meet that expectation, right? But some of the reviews I saw had me questioning if even that bar was too high. It turns out that it wasn't at all. I sincerely enjoyed this movie! It hit those marks and even went a little higher. I had read that it was all over the place (I didn't find that true at all). I didn't have any trouble following this movie, didn't even have to try. I think some people just like over analyzing things. This is not a movie to over analyze. Just go have fun. It is corny. Are some things a little overly corny? (like the dumb band), sure, but that's the point. OVER THE TOP! It's supposed to be cheesy, corny, raunchy, bloody, and ridiculous. If you don't like that than why would you watch this movie? Lol. Goes to show you really can't take someone else's word, you just have to find out yourself. And to be honest, I don't understand why it was unrated and apparently had a hard time getting a distributor. I've seen way more gory movies with more foul language this year that are rated R. It had it's gory scenes for sure but I thought there would be a lot more of them. Anyways, this movie was good nostalgia while making it's own way, fun, and everything else I had hoped it would be. I hope they make more.

The Toxic Avenger is a suitably gory and surprisingly funny low budget throwback to B-movies that's greatest strength comes from how consistently those jokes land. It updates the titular character for modern times effectively and is always moving quickly enough to remain a fun watch. The bad taste sensibilities are more than accounted for and it also has the required heart to be emotionally investing as well.

Peter Dinklage gets things off to a strong start thanks to his heartfelt performance as a downbeat guy who just wants to be a good dad. Once he hands over the physical work to Luisa Guerreiro, they work well together so it still feels like one character. Kevin Bacon is the fun kind of pathetic villain and Elijah Wood similarly gets some laughs out of his eccentric character. Taylour Paige does the narrative heavy lifting as well as delivering solid jokes.

Macon Blair's direction has a clear affection for this genre and when the smaller budget becomes visible it only adds to the charm. All the gore is fittingly bloody and gleefully over the top but it would've benefited from looking more practical overall. The occasionally snappy editing by Brett W. Bachman and James Thomas prevents the film from getting bogged down by the most common narrative tropes when they appear.