The Toxic Avenger (2023)★ 5.8/10

This review is about a movie that was filmed four years ago and premiered at the Fantastic Fest two years ago. Having finally had its wide release, this is THE TOXIC AVENGER. This is a remake of the 1984 cult classic, and the fifth in the franchise. I had never even heard of these until now, much less known what a “Troma film” was. Basically, these are low-budget, low-brow, mostly violent films from the 80’s onwards. I actually tried watching the original TOXIC AVENGER. I turned it off after about 15 minutes, it was just gross. And this is coming from a guy who loves the TERRIFIER franchise! For the most part, I enjoyed this remake. It still feels low-budget and it’s super violent, but the low-brow gross-out stuff from the other installments is mostly gone. This is about Winston Gooze (Peter Dinklage), a widowed stepfather struggling to take care of his stepson Wade (Jacob Tremblay). Working as a janitor in a chemical plant, Winston tries doing the right thing and ends up getting a terminal diagnosis, shot, and dumped into a vat of chemicals, transforming him into the radioactive creature we know and love, Toxie. Despite the fact that this franchise has a “so bad it’s good” vibe, this one also has heart, and something to say. You have commentary about the healthcare system and about how chemicals are killing the planet. Most of this movie features practical effects, which I always appreciate. It has a solid story with memorable characters. Kevin Bacon plays the corrupt CEO of the company, Bob Garbinger, while a criminally underutilized Elijah Wood plays is brother Fritz Garbinger. He’s the “Igor type” who looks like Danny DeVito’s Penguin. He needed to do more in this movie. Fans of these movies might think the first half is slow. It definitely picks up when the carnage candy starts. Despite the fact that you can never make a movie like the original 1984 version, especially these days, they pushed it to the limit with THE TOXIC AVENGER, especially with the violence. This is not a movie for mass audiences. I would only recommend it for fans of slasher comedies, Troma films, or the old franchise. It’s satirical, silly, and extremely violent. I had a fine time with this one.

A ver, a ver.. es tremendamente divertida, sangrienta y entretenida pero en todo momento se nota que esta orientada y hecha para un cierto publico. Quizas la exageracion de algunas escenas es una barrera para gente que o no esta acostumbrada a este tipo de cine o busca una propuesta mas formal, mas convencional, menos fumada jaja

No tenia registro de la existencia de una saga entera de cuatro cintas previas entre el 82 y los 2000 asi que tengo por delante una buena maraton porque el concepto en si me encanto. Entiendo que esta es un remake de la original, la cual vere prontamente.

Como critica yo le sacaria un par de minutos (quizas a toda la introduccion) pero me encanto la participacion de Peter Dinklage en el protagonico, ambos roles, previo y posterior a la transformacion, me parecieron muy acertados. Incluso los papeles de Kavin Tocino y de Daniel Radcliffe fueron divertidos