Review: "The Toxic Avenger (2023)"
I love the original Toxic Avenger. Learning they were remaking it with a bigger cast and way more money scared me, but seeing what mutated out of it...
Winston Gooze is trying his best. He's a down-on-his-luck stepdad just trying to provide a better life for his stepson. He works as a janitor at a giant corporation for pennies, and unfortunately, his job is killing him, literally. The place he works is covered in toxic chemicals that have given him a large and fatal number of brain tumors. Worse than the cause, his insurance won't cover the treatment for the tumors. Winston has only one choice, as he sees it; he plans to break into his own job and rob the place.
J.J. is an investigative reporter with a scorchingly hot scoop. The large corporation BTH (Body Talk Healthstyle) is possibly behind a large portion of the pollutants in the area, as well as possibly causing cancer in most of its employees. She knows she needs to get some proof of this, and after her editor is brutally murdered in front of her, she needs to move on this tip ASAP. She decides to break into a BTH plant and get her proof the hard way.
One night, as both J.J. and Winston move toward accomplishing their ultimate goals, they are chased down by a group of musicians hired as killers. BTH wants them both gone no matter the cost and no matter the risks. Run down in a back parking lot, J.J. manages to scale the fence and escape. Winston, due to his small stature, is cornered, shot, and dumped into a large vat of chemical waste. When he emerges from the disgusting goop, he is no longer the weak little Winston. He has been transformed into the Toxic Avenger.
I was a huge fan of the original Toxic Avenger from the 80s. I saw it as a kid (probably on USA Up All Nite), and even though it was a crappy, campy, over-the-top horror movie from Troma, I loved it. Still do, actually. When I heard that there would be a remake with a Hollywood budget and a Hollywood cast as well, I was skeptical, to say the least. After watching it, though, I can say that this is the remake it deserved.
Peter Dinklage plays Winston, and eventually Toxie, and does a great job of capturing both the seriousness of the character as well as the comedic attitude that was there in the original. You really feel for the poor guy, just trying to do what he feels is right no matter the cost, and only getting shit on in the end. The rest of the cast, including Kevin Bacon as the main bad guy and his brother portrayed by Elijah Wood, are also phenomenal. It feels like Kevin Bacon was told his character motivation and just ran with it. He plays the perfect 80s corporate dirtbag.
Though this is still a Troma movie at heart, it has the wallet of a big-budget film, for sure. Besides the cast, the special effects are wonderful. There's still a ton of blood, dismemberment, and the occasional boob, but it all just looks and works better here. I'm not saying I want ALL the Troma movies to be remade like this, but if someone said they were doing another Nuke'em High with a similar style, I would be down for that.
I guess depending on the viewers' level of nostalgia for old campy movies like this, they may or may not care to give this one a chance. However, if they were already a fan (like myself) back in the day, this is certainly one to check out. Will watch again, certainly.
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