The Toxic Avenger and all the images you see in this review are owned by Cineverse and Troma Entertainment
Directed by Macon Blair
I’m not always sure what to make of Troma. Some of their movies have been genuinely artistic efforts with an iconoclastic edge, but then others are cheap garbage with retrograde ideas of humor and wit. It was, and presumably still is, a great breeding ground for up-and-coming talent, and they’ve stuck around long enough for a mythology to be built around them that can justify a big budgeted goofy remake of their most iconic film. Will this attempt at modernizing low-rent Gen-X trash appeal to the TikTok generation, or is it another failed attempt to get the youngsters to appreciate our nostalgic garbage? Let’s find out!!
Life in Tromaville is not for the faint of heart; especially given how crappy the health insurance is. No one knows this more than Winston Gooze (Peter Dinklage) who works a janitor for the terrifying chemical conglomerate that runs the town with an iron fist. There are those in town that oppose the company, namely the whistleblower JJ Doherty (Taylour Paige) who is trying to get the word out about their evil deeds, but Winston isn’t one of those people as he has a stepson (Jacob Tremblay) to take care of and can’t stick his neck out lest he lose what little he still has. Still, circumstances push him to take desperate actions to try and salvage his meager little life, and he’s shot dead before being dumped in a pit of goo for his troubles. Said goo, however, turns out to be the kind that grants superpowers and mutates him into a hideous monster with super strength, super healing, and a radioactive mop to fight bad guys with. The town begins to celebrate this new hero of justice, but he still has a son to look after, and his exploits catch the attention of his former employer, who sees dollar signs in his unique genetic makeup that has given him such a mighty mutation. Can Winston be both a fighter for justice and a responsible father, or are the pressures of living two lives more than even a super-heroic mutated monstrosity can handle? Can JJ bring down this evil corporation with the secrets she’s working to reveal, or are they too big to fail, especially if they get their hands on Winston’s DNA? Seriously, how did they manage to get Peter Dinklage in this? I doubt Troma has Nick Cage money, let alone Dinklage bucks!
The original movie is rightfully remembered as a classic, but it was a crass exploitation film that was a product of its era and a victim of its amateurish origins. It had a unique premise that managed to capture a grungy charm you couldn’t find in mainstream Hollywood flicks, and to me, that’s what makes it a perfect candidate for this kind of reimagining. Too many remakes have little ambition besides modernizing the tech behind a popular blockbuster, but with material as shaggy and ramshackle as the original Toxic Avenger, there’s room to grow new ideas and this finds the right balance between updating the material in all the ways that matters while reveling in its grungy roots. Purists of the original film may bristle at the various changes to the source material, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the Man-Baby YouTube Brigade started calling this the Woke Avenger, but for me, the most laudable thing about this is that it doesn’t feel like a butchering of the original despite how deep the changes are. It feels as relevant to 2025 as the original was to the Big Business era of the 80s, and all the important beat to the plot are still there, even if the names and circumstances have changed. It certainly comes off as a more coherent and deliberate story than the mashup of a spa-horror film and a low grade superhero movie that the original was, and frankly the more professional production only heightens the impact that it’s supposed to have.
Toxie is much more of an unexpected and tragic hero than a vengeful monster than just so happens to hate the right kind of jerks, and this new origin is phenomenally portrayed by Peter Dinklage, who, let’s be honest, is far too good for this kind of material; even the more polished version they’re going for here. The film finds its greatest strength in letting his struggles be the heart and soul of the movie; giving him the entire opening act of the film to set up his relationships and motivations before dipping him in goo and fighting bad guys. It’s a bold choice and a clear departure from the original, which couldn’t wait to shove its nerdy protagonist into a toxic waste barrel, but that extra effort is greatly appreciated and makes the subsequent avenging sequences that much more satisfying to see. We also get strong performances from Jacob Tremblay and Taylour Paige who don’t light up the screen the same way Dinklage does, but do a solid job of reinforcing what’s at stake in all of this and the reason that Toxie fights for what he does. All that said, the film’s stronger emphasis on narrative and characters should not be read as rejection of its trashy roots as the film has a significant amount of gore, crass humor, and cheesy special effects, but they’re not there to paper over a thin script as was more or less the case with the original, and instead complement the righteous fury with which Toxie goes about avenging the town from the evil machinations of Late-Stage Capitalism. It’s not exactly a smart movie with how it explores societal issues, but it certainly has fun turning those responsible into piles of red goo.
The movie is not without some flaws, however, and I’m wondering how much of this had to do with the reports from two years ago that the film was an unworkable mess. It’s definitely not the case with the finished product in 2025, but there are some wonky transitions between story beats and the third act feels a little slapped together and without much impact due to how ultimately low stakes the movie feels by the end. The villains have much more of a presence here than in the original, but I can’t say they pulled it off much better. Oh sure, they have more screen time and are portrayed by better actors, but the writing is far too shallow for the final confrontation to feel like the ultimate clash between good and evil, and while the budget never feels like an issue for most of the movie, it does start to get noticeable as the air in the story starts to let out. Also, and without trying to throw too much of a bone to those who would dismiss this remake out of hand, it does feel a little bit too clean at points and some of the sleaze feels too much like they were going through the motions. I suppose it doesn’t really need to be as crass as the original, especially with a much stronger emphasis on Toxie’s family and their struggles, but it does feel like a small bit of the original’s charm is lost in the professionalism of the production.
As much as the original film is a classic for a certain type of film fan, it wasn’t without flaws, and I doubt that Lloyd himself would say that it was the best version of that movie that it could have been. He certainly spent years trying to turn the brand into something else, what with the myriad of sequels and even the Saturday morning cartoon, and I think what makes this work is that it feels like an extension of that. It feels like the movie Lloyd would have made if he knew just how much people would gravitate to this character and had a lot more money to spend. It may not have the impact of the original, and in some regards is perhaps a bit more disposable, but we don’t often get remakes and reboots that feel like a genuine work from those with a creative vision and a love for the source material. This is definitely worth checking out for anyone who appreciates grittier and goofier fare than what usually makes it to the multiplex, but even for mainstream audiences, I think this has just enough fun and heart to pick up a few new fans to the franchise; at least until they see the other movies and bounce right back to the Conjuring movies or whatever.
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