AggroCast — Let’s Review Toxic Avenger (2025) [Episode Twenty]

TRANSCRIPTION

Raymond Bruels: Hi. This is the AggroCast. This is Ray.

David Hades Becker: And this is David.

RB: And today, we are talking about the new remake of Toxic Avenger, 2025 Legendary Pictures. So, while we were at Comic-Con, we had the opportunity of going to the panel for Toxic Avenger. We covered that in our Comic-Con recap. But one of the- the other aspects was that they were doing a film review there at Comic-Con, in one of the theaters that was off-site. And y- it was a ticketed event. I had dropped a line and said, “Hey, is it possible to get in as press?” And they were like, “Nope, you’re out of luck, but we’ll put you on a list for a possible screener.” And I- I didn’t think anything of it because, you know, l- people say a lot of things. And then all of a sudden this week, we’re recording this the week before the movie comes out, and we have an actual dropdown. So we can’t put this out immediately. We have to wait until the day the movie comes out.

DHB: Yes.

RB: And that’s probably when you’re listening to it. Ta-da!

DHB: Yeah, u- until the embargo lifts ’cause I think, uh, we can, we can release all this stuff right before the movie comes out, which is Aug- August 29th-

RB: Yep.

DHB: …in many, many theaters out there.

RB: Yeah.

DHB: ’Cause they had to fight to get that in theaters.

RB: So yeah, Michelle Johnson from Cineverse sent over the link and gave us the opportunity to review the film, and we’re gonna talk about that today. I went down a deep dive, not only after watching the r- the remake, but also watching some of the original films. And holy shit. All right, so I don’t wanna dive into that until we’ve kinda go- gone over the- the remake.

DHB: Mm-hmm.

RB: But there’s a long legacy for the Toxic Avenger. This has been one of Troma’s staples forever.

DHB: Yeah, and it’s- and from, from what I remember, from what I’ve heard from you, uh, I didn’t know this. Like I knew the, the main character. I knew the original film and like the cartoon and even like… I know that obviously I mentioned the video game that’s coming, you know, it- I knew all that, but I didn’t know how massive it was.

RB: Well, and the fact that they had five movies-

DHB: Mm-hmm.

RB: …plus they had the cartoon, Toxic Crusaders, and they’ve had comic book adaptions of various kinds over the years. It’s- it’s a lot. Lloyd Kaufman, uh, conceived of this thing back in the early 80s. Uh, originally it was supposed to be kind of a horror film that, um, turned into this massive thing. And the remake kind of has some of that horror element, but it’s also campy and kind of has a superhero edge.

DHB: Yeah, I was gonna say, it felt like some of the s- some of the scenes felt very, very like comic book pulpy.

RB: Yeah.

DHB: Like you could see like, like the villains were just villains to be evil for no reason other than, “We’re evil.” And the same thing with some of the heroes. Like they’re doing stuff, it was like, “’Cause that’s what a hero does.”

RB: And that, capturing that essence does really hearken back to the original movie. Uh, because the villains are just villainous. But there’s also an edge of social commentary. And this one you could feel some of that social commentary-

DHB: Yeah, a little bit more.

RB: …because you’ve got the toxic waste and the, the health aspect because the m- the main villain… And we’re gonna, we’re gonna start to tread into some spoilers. So if you’re not interested in spoilers, we’re not gonna ruin the, you know, play-by-play of the entire movie, but we are gonna talk about some of the elements that really stood out to us. Such as the main villain, played by Kevin Bacon. He played Bob Garbager. He was a health fanatic, like ran a company that was trying to provide drugs to, to keep people healthy and, and youthful.

DHB: Yeah. Well n- not only just that, it was like he- even some of the scenes you- they put him in, why it leans into the weird campy elements. He was doing some of that alternative medicine stuff as well to like… ’Cause I think the first thing you see is he’s getting gorilla blood pumped into his veins.

RB: Yeah. Which, uh, there’s a, there’s a famous billionaire who like his big shtick was he was gonna live forever. And he’s, he’s like 40 but has the, the, the bodily health of a 23-year-old and, and all the weird bullshit.

DHB: Mm-hmm.

RB: And yeah, it definitely drew some inspiration from that. So yeah, you’ve got this villain who’s villainous for the sake of being villainous. And then his brother, played by Elijah Wood, who is just kind of this little toady. And we had mentioned this before in one of our other podcasts, how the makeup for Elijah Wood reminds us of the makeup for the flash-forward that F- Frodo has, looking like Gollum.

DHB: Yeah, it was a little bit, it reminded me of that and al- weirdly a little bit of Danny DeVito’s Penguin-

RB: Yeah.

DHB: …from the Batman movie.

RB: Yeah. ’Cause he even like had the little hunch and he, and I think he had a, a cane.

DHB: Yeah, he had the cane. And like even like the, like, the clothes he was wearing kind of felt like it was like, I could see Danny DeVito’s version of the Penguin wearing exactly that, even though Elijah Wood wasn’t, you know, overweight or like had the body shape. It was just, it just dawned on me. I was like, “That feels like the Penguin at the same time.”

RB: Yeah. Well, and then of course he’s got his henchman, which is a band that he’s also, m- uh, managing called the Killer Nuts.

DHB: Yeah.

RB: The Killer Nuts, like monster core ’cause it-

DHB: Yeah.

RB: …at one point in the movie they’re making fun of like the genre of the band is, and Elijah is like, “It’s, it’s monster core.”

DHB: “It’s monster core.”

RB: (laughs)

DHB: A- at which point I was like, uh, “Okay, that makes more sense ’cause like the lead singer looks like one of the guys from Twiztid.” You have a guitarist who feels like he could be like a member of like s- uh, some random wei- wer- way, like Slipknot type of thing.

RB: Yeah.

DHB: And you have the weird parkour guy that, for no reason, and then you have the Medusa chick on the, on the, um, spinning the whe- wheels in the back and I’m like, “What the hell is going on here?”

RB: Yeah. It, well and that, that is very much in vibe with the original because you had henchmen and gangs that really made no sense and they were able to really portray that in this new film. Macon Blair, who’s the director of the new film, did such a great job even though it’s kind of a retelling. The original was more of a love story with Toxic Avenger finding his blind girlfriend. But in this it’s, it’s more the story of Winston, played by Peter Dinklage, and his son, uh, Wade.

DHB: Wade, yeah.

RB: …yeah, Wade, and the, the story of a stepfather and his son and how they grow together even as, you know, there’s- there’s this oddity of becoming the Toxic Av- A- Avenger.

DHB: Yeah, because like even the thing starts out, like obviously it’s- it’s a sh- shaky, uh, relationship they have ’cause th- the mother’s dead and Peter Dinklage’s character is still stepping up to be like, “I’m still gonna be Dad even though we’re not biological.” Like he has that- he’s taking on that responsibility even though the kid doesn’t want- doesn’t feel like he wants it at all.

RB: Well, and he even mentions in the film, he’s like, “You’re not my dad.”

DHB: Yeah.

RB: But then by the- by the end of the film of course things kind of change as he recognizes that, “Hey, you know, this- this is my dad and I love my dad and my dad’s gonna fuck you up.” (laughs)

DHB: Oh, and I think part of that comes at me is like, so I think it- they- they show with the- they save the cat moment where the- they walk downstairs and you can see like, uh, Peter Dinklage is just like, his character’s kind of weak and meek and all that stuff, and he, he’ll- he’ll help out when it’s easy but when things get tough, he’d rather shy away and hide. So he kind of becomes that hero over time, and I think that’s what kind of inspires the kid to get closer, be like, “Oh yeah, he can actually be a hero and not just this guy who’s going through the motions.”

RB: Well, and that- that was a touching moment in the film, because yeah, like you said, he saved the cat but he wouldn’t stand up to the guy that was trying to get the downstairs neighbor who ran the store to sign over her shop.

DHB: Mm-hmm.

RB: And it’s like-

DHB: And is the one- and is the one who kidnapped the cat and threw it into the street in the first place.

RB: Yeah, and he said, you know, “Sometimes you just don’t do anything.” But then when he becomes the Toxic Avenger and somebody asks him, “Well, why did you get involved,” w- with the scenario that he- he saves people, he’s like, “Well, sometimes you have to get involved.”

DHB: Yeah.

RB: So it’s a- it was a shift of mindset, uh, in the character of Wilson, and then that’s what his son recognizes that, “Hey, not only is that my dad, but my dad has changed and not just in physical appearance.” When we first started talking about Toxic Avenger, I was not sure how I was going to take Peter Dinklage as Toxie, because Toxie in the original film is like 6’5” or something, this giant muscle-bound guy wearing a tutu. And then you have Peter Dinklage who is a s- a smaller actor, but by God does he have the gravitas. And then of course, you- we- when- when we went to the panel at Comic-Con, we learned that it w- Peter Dinklage only really filmed his scenes as-

DHB: Winston.

RB: …Winston, and then they had a actress in the suit under like 30 pounds of foam portraying Toxie. And one of the- the factoids that I had- I had come across when we were researching for the- this podcast was that he- Peter Dinklage, he did- he did his filming of- of Winston, and then he took the rest of the script and in a white room basically acted out everything for Toxie, sent the tapes to the actress who was going to be performing as Toxie, she watched him, memorized his movements and his words, and then basically reinterpreted them on film as her interpretation of Peter Dinklage, and then he had to come back and do the vocals.

DHB: Yeah.

RB: So it was this really interesting combination of, you know, Peter influencing the actress who was basically playing Peter. (laughs)

DHB: Yeah, it was like- it’s like one of those scenes where it’s like they do the- the body swap in the movies, so like the- the main actor will play their role so it’s like- if th- like w- uh, Freaky Friday, so that the- the- the w- adult can watch how the kid would do it and the kid can watch how the adult’s gonna do it so they can mirror it.

RB: Yeah, and so that’s what you get out of this Toxic Avenger, is this really awesome portrayal. And then he- he’s having to reinterpret with his voice what he’s seeing on screen from the actress. Yeah, it just- it was super fun.

DHB: Mm-hmm.

RB: And I think it really- it really turned out well in the- the finished product. We also get some different powers with Toxie. So in the original, he had the acidic urine.

DHB: Yeah.

RB: Which comes up in the film, but the eye thing.

DHB: Yeah, where you pu- pluck it out and kind of-

RB: Yeah.

DHB: …look around corners and stuff. That was real-

RB: S-

DHB: I- I thought the- the first time I saw it, I thought it was like a weird gag ’cause he got- g- gets hit, his eye pops out. I was like, “Oh man, he got him messed up.”

RB: Yeah.

DHB: And then it comes back later on where he’s like, “Okay, let’s look around,” and he’s like using it to look around corners and stuff before he gets shot.

RB: Yeah.

DHB: And like that was kind of cool.

RB: That was fun. I’m like, “Holy shit.” And they definitely gave more of a power element to the mop.

DHB: Yeah.

RB: Because in the original it’s just a mop, and then later on in some of the attacks that he does against evil people, he picks up mops from the building that he’s in when he attacks them-

DHB: Mm-hmm.

RB: …and just uses those to like clean up the mess. But this, he’s actually got like a powered mop.

DHB: Yeah, it’s like it- I don’t want to say it’s magical, but it- it kind of feels like it’s that magic weapon that he has, even though I think it’s powered by the- the toxic sludge he dips it in, ’cause originally he dips it in to like attack somebody back with it to have like a- just a leg up before he becomes the Toxic Avenger.

RB: Yep, and then it becomes such a staple of- of the character, and they even added effects so it glowed and smoked.

DHB: Yeah.

RB: So like w- uh, they’re driving away in a convertible at one point and you could see it with a trail of smoke, and I was like, “That’s really fun.”

DHB: Yeah, it was a nice little attention to detail that it was still do- ’cause it did that throughout the entire movie, like even w- I think it was in- when he goes into the forest to meet the doctor/not doctor guy. (laughs)

RB: Yeah. (laughs)

DHB: You could still kind of see it smoking even though it kind of blends in with the fog and the forest.

RB: And- that doctor/not doctor guy.

DHB: (laughs)

RB: There are so many quirky non sequiturs in the course of the film that, again, I feel really c- captured the spirit of the original, but you’re just- they’re like what the fuck moments.

DHB: Yeah.

RB: Like he meets this crazy guy and then lat- you know, during the course of the conversation they have he says, “Yeah, I was a d- I was a doctor,” and then later on he goes to him for help because he needed a doctor and the guy’s like, “Who told you I was a doctor?”

DHB: Yeah, exactly. Who d- who said I was a doctor?

RB: (laughs)

DHB: And then also there’s like- I think a little bit later after that I think it gets pointed out like, he’s just some weird drug addict that’s down there because like the- one of the other actors is like, “Is that the guy down there fucking smoking Ginkum or whatever?” (laughs)

RB: Yeah. (laughs)But that also leads to another power you see from this Toxic Avenger, his blood as a healing mechanism.

DHB: Yeah, not, not just for him but for other people.

RB: Yeah. ’Cause yeah, he, he gets shot a few times and you see the bullets pop out of his skin and it heals up. And so they’ve given him this regenerative ability, which is really interesting. Yeah, and it’s just such an interesting take on the character. But then just the movie itself, when you… If you’re looking to compare the two, this to the original, they are completely different stories, completely different characters. It doesn’t have that love interest with the blind girl that happens in the original film, and then yeah, there’s all the crime that he’s trying to clean up in Tromaville.

DHB: Well, see, but that’s, uh, that, that was like… I don’t think it’s Tromaville. It’s Saint Roma’s Village or something like that.

RB: Yeah, they changed the name.

DHB: Yeah.

RB: Yeah.

DHB: But, but it’s like they… But the way the sign is presented, it’s, it’s, it looks like it says Tromaville on there.

RB: Yeah, that’s a good catch. Yeah, I totally had kind of, uh, spaced on that.

DHB: But that, I think, just leans into the more we’re doing a retelling instead of, like, a whole re- remake or rehashing of it all.

RB: Yeah.

DHB: Like, we’re gonna give the nods but we’re still gonna be like, “This is our own thing.”

RB: Well, and even with the Kevin Bacon character-

DHB: Mm-hmm.

RB: …and how he utilizes the toxicity to become a, a beast as well.

DHB: Yeah.

RB: And it was almost like a Beauty and the Beast ’cause he looked… He had the horns and the teeth, and-

DHB: He looks exactly as I would imagine, like, a- an actual traditional, like, beast from Beauty and the Beast would look in the real world instead of the, the Disneyfied version of it.

RB: Yeah. He had long claws.

DHB: And weird, like, the weird, like, porcupine teeth instead of, like, actual fangs or whatever.

RB: Yeah. It was, it was really strange but worked out, and then y- you know, of course, you’ve got your climatic moment at the end where they, they square off and fight, and, uh-

DHB: Yeah. I mean, there’s like an eight-foot-tall beast against this, like, four-foot-tall Toxic Avenger.

RB: Yeah. And, you know, the, the beast had a, a weapon as well, so they were going toe-to-toe mop versus weapon.

DHB: Yeah. It was like… It was a, a great ax or something like that, or a glaive.

RB: Yeah. But yeah, so what did you think overall in terms of the film? I know that you- there were some issues in terms of, of quality for the screener for you.

DHB: Which I, which I’m trying to, trying to overlook ’cause I know, I know I missed some, some things ’cause like I, I had issues seeing… Like, at some in- like I said, I could see like the fine detail of the smoke coming out but then other times, like, I had to take d- second looks at certain people to realize what characters they were.

RB: Yeah.

DHB: But in general, even on a low-quality screener, I was able to follow it fine, and then I still had a good time because it leaned into the camp and comic book nature of it all. So, it wasn’t like a serious, serious movie. Like, I, I think I would say it was… It felt kind of like House of 1000 Corpses and Willy’s Wonderland, kind of those vibes mixed together.

RB: Yeah, I would, I would agree with that, and then I would mix in even… And this will… This might sound strange, some Crow vibe.

DHB: Yeah, a little bit, yeah.

RB: Because the… It was a lot of night shots and-

DHB: Mm-hmm.

RB: …and that kind of the city is part of a, a character as well.

DHB: Yeah.

RB: But yeah, but overall you had a good time with it?

DHB: Yeah, definitely. Like, uh, once I, once I started, like, get- to get, like… The first few minutes of it, it’s a little rough ’cause it was like, “What am I getting into?” ’Cause I wasn’t sure if it was gonna be like the original, like, the kind of, like, what angle were they going? But as soon as, like, th- the first time you see the, the little intro where you see how horrible things are, you’re like, “Oh, they’re just leaning into this camp.” It’s, “Don’t look for anything overly serious and just have a good time.” Like, a- definitely a popcorn movie, that you can go in, turn your brain off, and have a good time, and good laugh. There’s a lot of fun, hyper-violence, little bit of nudity, which I know the originals were heavy into the nudity, but this one’s like, “It’s tasteful somewhat.”

RB: Yeah. Yeah, ’cause the originals definitely had… They leaned into it ’cause that was part of Troma Entertainment, uh, the, the T&A of the, the nine- the 1980s.

DHB: Mm-hmm.

RB: Uh, but I really enjoyed it. Like y- like you said, you just turn your brain off, just enjoy the ride.

DHB: Yeah.

RB: And it, and it’s such a, an interesting mishmash of genres that you’ve got some horror elements, you’ve got some campy superhero elements, you’ve got, you know, some, some serious moments, and yeah, it just… It’s a really fun, quirky film that I wanna see on the big screen just to, to have that experience.

DHB: Yeah, exactly, ’cause I, I think it’s gonna have a whole different experience on the big screen, and I also don’t think we got the final, like, un- quote-unquote “unedited” version, ’cause there were some scenes that felt like they were either cut out or edited potentially to get it into theaters, especially based on what we’ve heard or even other s- screenshots we have seen that just never showed up in the film version we saw.

RB: Well, and that definitely, yeah, that opens the door to Penisgate.

DHB: Y- exactly.

RB: When they first were screening it… ’Cause this movie was filmed in 2020, which made filming kind of awkward for the actors, but they’ve been trying to pitch this film for a while, and they had taken it to some film festivals trying to find a distributor. And they had a scene in which Toxy is tie- is kind of tied up in chains and titanium restraints, and he remembers that he has acidic urine.

DHB: Yeah.

RB: And so he, he has to whip his junk out. Well, there’s, there… I’ve seen the images from the original showing-

DHB: Mm-hmm.

RB: …where he’s holding his mutant penis-

DHB: Well, and, and it is a further context for those listening, it’s… He’s not trying to get the shackles around his hands, he has one around his neck that he has to get off first.

RB: So, he’s literally pissing in his own face?

DHB: Yeah.

RB: (laughs) And then after he gets himself free, he turns to investigative reporter-

DHB: Okay.

RB: …Taylour Page, playing JJ Doherty.

DHB: Yeah.

RB: He, he turns to her and he’s like, “Don’t worry, I’ve got better aim now.” (laughs)

DHB: Yeah. (laughs) And you just see that look of panic on her face-

RB: (laughs)

DHB: …and then you see the shackles fall, so…

RB: Yeah.

DHB: So, that, that’s the only thing I can think is that they had to censor it because having somebody do some, like, weird water sports on each other could have been a little too sexual for people, but at the same time during one of the Killer Nuts shows, they have, you know, full-on tits and, um, some guy whipping his dick out in that.

RB: Yeah. It was really strange, and if… And I imagine that there are some other violent a- aspects that have been cut back, so having an unedited or uncut version would be interesting to see.

DHB: Yeah, ’cause especially w- so when, when you go to, like, the violent stuff, or like even the gore, it almost felt like everything was just a quick swipe across with, like, the mop. And it was, like, almost as if somebody t- did a wipe and, like, now that body part’s no longer there and just blood’s just laying.

RB: Yeah.

DHB: I think the only time, uh, that it wasn’t like that is when he kills one of the Killer Nuts with it, and it only gets the top of his head so you see brain and chunks flying out there. But almost everybody else, it’s like, “Oh, their jaw fell off. Oh, their arm fell off.” So I felt like that might have been toned down. Or there might have been other crazier kill scenes that were filmed that didn’t make that final cut.

RB: Which is, yeah, it’s interesting because when you look at the original Toxic Avenger movie, like there’s a scene where they run over this, this young teenage kid on a bike, and then they back up over him because he was still moving. And you see his, his head is crushed and there’s brains all over the, the concrete.

DHB: Mm-hmm.

RB: They were certainly more violent in terms of the original films compared to this.

DHB: Yeah.

RB: But they’re also looking to release this to mainstream public.

DHB: Y- yeah, in, in the main theaters and not go straight to a streaming service, whi- which I get, which is why I’m kind of hoping that there’s the, the director’s cut that’ll come out-

RB: Yeah.

DHB: …after it hits theaters.

RB: Well, and it’s great because we have this. There’s a comic book series that’s presently out for it-

DHB: Hmm.

RB: …that they just did a Kickstarter where s- they were offering signed copies if you had gotten into a certain reward tier, uh, signed by Lloyd Kaufman, the original creator. But there’s also the video game.

DHB: Yeah, there’s the Toxic Crusaders video game, which th- that’s coming out early December. And then it’s also supposed to continue the story of the Toxic Crusader TV show, or cartoon.

RB: Yeah, the, the Toxic Crusaders, which is, is gonna be… That, that’s gonna be fun to see. For those who have not had an opportunity, I definitely recommend checking it out. It had proto-Captain Planet vibe to it.

DHB: It was like, it was like Captain Planet and Ninja Turtles mixed together.

RB: Yeah, and little, uh, Easter eggs. So in the original Toxic Avenger movie, his love interest’s name is Sarah, but then in the second movie, they changed the name to Claire. It was played by Phoebe Guere. But in the cartoon, they changed the name to Yvonne. So the, the love interests of Toxie has had three different names.

DHB: He gets around. There’s nothing wrong with that. (laughs)

RB: But it’s all the same character. (laughs)

DHB: She could have multiple personalities, or you don’t know. I mean, I’m not- (laughs)

RB: I’m not… Uh, yeah, I’m, I’m not here to judge.

DHB: If it’s consensual, no judgment. (laughs)

RB: Yeah, no judgment.

DHB: So just be careful with the way the, the toxic penis works there.

RB: Yeah. (laughs) But, but in all of the movies, he has been endowed with a enlarged organ.

DHB: (laughs) Way to be tactful on that one. (laughs)

RB: Yeah, a giant schlong.

DHB: He has a big penis-

RB: (laughs)

DHB: …is what we’re trying to say. (laughs)

RB: If you’re going into it thinking it’s just a remake of the original, it’s not. It is going to be a brand new film with Macon Blair’s spin on it, and then this really interesting dynamic cast of characters that really try to channel the spirit of the original franchise.

DHB: Well, not just the franchise, kind of like the whole Troma thing in general.

RB: Yeah.

DHB: ’Cause it feels like they le- tried to lean into that with still being safe for what it is now f- in today’s market.

RB: Well, and this starts the, the question of if Toxi- this Toxic Avenger movie does well, are they going to look to other Troma films? Was it Nuke ’Em High was also a-

DHB: Yeah.

RB: …Troma film?

DHB: Yeah.

RB: So there’s the possibility of a whole reboot or, like, revival of the Troma brand. And the fact that Lloyd Kaufman is still around, that is super cool, you know.

DHB: Just around, around and pushing the, the IP hard too.

RB: Yeah. Well, and that was one of the things during our recap of C- Comic Con. We were at his… at the booth for Troma, and he was shaking hands and talking to people and having a good time. And he’s really energetic for his age. And being able to see that as a creator, like you went through the whole process before and now there’s this remake from another director with this amazing cast, with a Peter Dinklage, who is a well-known actor in his own right.

DHB: Well, not just Peter Dinklage. Kevin Bacon, Elijah Wood. You, you got a whole bunch of other big names that are in there helping push this.

RB: The original Toxic Avenger movies didn’t really have any actors of note. So having now these mainstream highbrow actors in these, these roles, it’s, it’s gotta be incredible as a creator. And I really tip my hat to Lloyd Kaufman because he created this and then he and Michael Herz directed the f- at least the first few, uh, original Toxic Avenger movies. And all right, so I went down the deep dive-

DHB: (laughs)

RB: …of the Toxic Avengers movies. I only got through the first two, and I, I thought about watching the third one, but… So the second film, (laughs) really I was like, “Okay, uh…”

DHB: Diminishing returns is what I’m hearing. (laughs)

RB: It was diminishing returns. Like, you could see the production value had gone up, but they changed a lot of elements to it. Like, okay, so the original Toxic Avenger, when Melvin, not Winston, ’cause the original character’s name is Melvin. When Melvin gets turned into the Toxic Avenger, one of the things that I f- I always thought was entertaining, ’cause I saw this when I was, like, 12. I liked the fact that the Toxic Avenger, even though he would growl and he had all this grunting, when he spoke, he had this really amazing, deep, passionate voice. And evidently that was Kenneth Kesler, who had been a Western star but he was also a voice trailer guy for Troma.

DHB: Mm-hmm.

RB: So he had had a r- reputation and, and career, but he had this amazing voice. So, like, you know, he sh- he shows up, he beats the shit out of people, he kills them in various and interesting gr- grotesque ways, and then he’s like, “Oh, pardon me. I didn’t know.” And that I thought was really interesting because of Peter Dinklage and his voice. He has such a great, powerful voice.

DHB: Yeah, he’s got a lot of gravitas with it.

RB: And so the gravitas of Peter’s voice and the gravitas of the original, uh, with Kenneth Kesler, I feel like was a great match. But yeah, so like in the originals, you have this, you have this great voice. And then in the second film…They went back to the original actor who played Melvin, and so the deep gravel, you know, gr- gr- voice that has gravitas is gone. And it’s, “Hi, I’m Melvin.”

DHB: (laughs)

RB: Like, “I’m the Toxic Avenger,” and it’s like, what the fuck just happened? Like-

DHB: They cut his nuts off. He no longer has a, uh, w- he’s not well-endowed anymore.

RB: Well, and, and in the, in the second movie, he’s going to a psychiatrist seven days a week. And I’m like, “Is this a critique? They immaculate the Toxic Avenger-”

DHB: (laughs)

RB: “…by going to mental health?” But yeah, he had cleaned up Tromaville in the, by the second movie, and so he was working at a, like a nursing home for blind people, and then the evil corporation, Apocalypse, Inc., shows up to take over Tromaville and blows up. And s- he, through a mad cap series of events, he’s essentially sent to Japan, where, you know, he’s fighting sumos and yakuza-

DHB: (laughs)

RB: …and there’s, there’s now Asian women flashing their breasts, and it’s just, it’s a over-the-top, crazy, zany thing.

DHB: Classy. (laughs)

RB: Yeah. And we were having dinner before we started the podcast, and I pointed out that it felt like in the end, towards the back end of the second film, they were either running out of money or time, and so they had to rush the ending. He windsurfs back to Tromaville from Japan, and that, and then cleans up the town, which is bosi- mostly Toxie running around tearing signs down. It just, it, they sped up the end where he defeats the bad guys and drives them out of town, tha- and then it’s the end. And it’s like, “Wow, okay.”

DHB: They needed a montage to get to the end credits. (laughs)

RB: I, I guess so. Which har- going back to the remake, I loved the end credits for the remake.

DHB: Yeah.

RB: Because there is an after-credits scene, which is fucking hilarious, and they talk a- they talk about a sequel, and there’s a bunch-

DHB: Yeah.

RB: …of text that comes up, and they’re like, “But, but only pay in crypto.” Like- (laughs)

DHB: Yeah, exactly.

RB: (laughs)

DHB: But yeah, and I wanna bring that up ’cause it was like, “Toxie versus the Dildos,” or something like that.

RB: Yeah. (laughs)

DHB: One of them, and I was like, “What the hell is going on?”

RB: Yeah, it’s like they tried to toss in everything, you know, from, from the other movies, kind of as a possibility of a sequel. And I think it would be great to see a sequel. I don’t know if they’ll be able to get the cast back.

DHB: Potentially. I mean, uh, yeah, it seemed like they all had a good time doing it. I mean, at least the ones who, the characters that were still alive at the end of this one. So, unless they wanna do a prequel. (laughs)

RB: Well, and that was interesting because we had not seen it when we were at the panel, and somebody had asked Elijah the question about his character-

DHB: Mm-hmm.

RB: …and what he would do after the film. Well, and there’s a scene as I’m watching the film where I’m like, “Oh, no, is his character gonna die?” ’Cause he gets, he gets attacked, and his throat gets slashed.

DHB: Yup.

RB: And I’m like, “Holy shit, he’s gonna, they’re gonna kill his character. There’s no, he’s not gonna be back in a sequel.” And then later on, you see him in the hospital, and he’s got a voice box-

DHB: Yeah.

RB: …so he reminds me of that character from South Park-

DHB: (laughs)

RB: …where-

DHB: That’s exactly what I was gonna say. (laughs)

RB: (laughs) He’s like, “Can I have some more apple juice?”

DHB: Yeah.

RB: It’s like, “Shut up.”

DHB: (laughs)

RB: But yeah, the, so he is, he is still there. So, they could-

DHB: Yeah.

RB: …bring him back, and then, you know, having Peter Dinklage do the voice, if Peter Dinklage was so inclined-

DHB: Hm.

RB: …could be really cool.

DHB: Yeah, expe- especially if he’s, like, he would only have to do the voice at that point.

RB: Yup.

DHB: And may- maybe do the, like you were saying before, do like, the, in the white room where he’s recording how he would react to certain things. Which, according to him, he’s a prima donna, so he’d love to do that where it’s like, “Oh, I get to collect a paycheck and do the easiest job ever.”

RB: Yeah. (laughs)

DHB: “Let’s do this.”

RB: Yeah, it was, uh, it was interesting. One of the, there was an interview that happened at Comic-Con, and they had asked the actors what familiarity they had with the Toxic Avenger, uh, franchise. Peter did because he saw it as a kid, ’cause evidently one of his friends had it on VHS-

DHB: Mm-hmm.

RB: …and it was their time to see it.

DHB: Well, that, and he said it something, uh, ’cause it’s, uh, based in New Jersey and the, the, the storyline, he’s from New Jersey and all that stuff, so it kinda felt right to watch it.

RB: Yeah. But the rest of them didn’t really have a whole lot of experience.

DHB: Yeah.

RB: Like the actress that played the reporter-

DHB: Mm-hmm.

RB: …JJ Doherty, Taylour Paige being the actress, had no experience. So, I guess Macon Blair reached out to her and said, “Hey, I’ve seen other things you’ve done. I’d love for you to be in this film. Are you familiar with it?” She watched it, and then she’s like, “But wait a minute, I’m, wha- how is this…” (laughs)

DHB: (laughs)

RB: And so she was slightly confused by how things were lining up based off of things she had done in the past in other, uh, films. But he also, I think he pulled Elijah Wood. Elijah Wood only knew the Toxic Crusader cartoon, so he had to get familiarized with the movie. And then the young fella that played the son-

DHB: Yeah, Jacob, Jacob Tremblay.

RB: Yeah, he, he had no experience with it.

DHB: Yeah, exactly.

RB: ’Cause this, this is outside of his-

DHB: I don’t even think he was al- be alive even after the cartoon fi- finished airing. (laughs)

RB: Yeah, yeah, ’cause there were two seasons to the cartoon, and I think the cartoon showed up in ’91?

DHB: Yeah.

RB: Yeah, so even before I graduated, it was, uh, high school, it was, came and went. But yeah, so Toxic Avenger, man. I am so glad that I saw the preview and that instantly changed my mind as to what we were going to be seeing. And Peter Dinklage carrying this, this film, and then getting to, getting to see the screener. And now I’m super excited for next week when it comes out in theaters.

DHB: Yeah, Au- August 29th. (laughs)

RB: And you had sent me a picture that there are some theaters that are actually coming out with little popcorn buckets-

DHB: Yeah, it’s a-

RB: …or something.

DHB: Yeah, it’s a s- either a, it’s like an aluminum toxic waste can that, uh, has a lid and all that stuff, and looks like it’s cool. I wanna say it’s like they’re charging like 30 bucks for it, but still kinda like a cool little thing. And it’s like Cinemark, I believe, is the one who’s having a, the, the fun popcorn bucket craze.

RB: Yeah. Well, yeah, ’cause everybody seems to have one these days.

DHB: Yeah. But that one, that one seems a lot cooler than the weird Galactus one Marvel just did for Fan- fans who score.

RB: (laughs) That giant glowing head?

DHB: Yeah.

RB: (laughs)

DHB: For like 80 bucks, yeah. No, no, I’ll, I’ll take my cool little, you know, Tromaville, uh, canister of g- toxic goo instead. (laughs)

RB: Yeah. Well, that’s been the review of Toxic Avenger. If you see it, please let us know in the comments below what your thoughts are on it. If you’d like to hear us talk about other films, I would love to do more film reviews just because I love movies, and we’ve got some really good ones coming up.

DHB: Yeah. Uh, and we’ve also got a bunch that we haven’t had a chance to talk about or even see in general, uh, that are already out, so.

RB: That’s true, and as we are recording this, Prime Primitive War, the, the one where they’re fighting dinosaurs-

DHB: Yeah.

RB: …that’s coming out, so I’ve, I’ve thought about g- trying to go and catch that ’cause I think that would be just hilarious to watch. Kinda like Predators-

DHB: Mm-hmm.

RB: …only dinosaurs.

DHB: Yeah. Well, it’s also nice to go out and watch some of the ones that aren’t, like, the big blockbusters, like your DC movies or your M- Marvel movies, something like that, ’cause sometimes you, you get more fun out of these smaller movies…… than you would any giant blockbusters, ’cause I also, it’s like… A- another movie I would compare this to is, like, PG, uh, Psycho Goreman, because it’s just fun camping. It’s like, you want to go have fun? Let’s go have fun. Instead of, like, give me some serious dialogue and then some humor here and some more serious dialogue.

RB: Yeah. John dies in the end. Yeah, there’s-

DHB: Yeah.

RB: I feel like this would fit in a, in a whole genre to itself with other quirky, fun films.

DHB: Yeah.

RB: Rubber. I don’t know if you ever saw that about the killer tire. (laughs)

DHB: The killer tire, yeah. I, I, I know all sorts of weird, like Raccoon and VelociPastor is still one of my favorite ones.

RB: Yeah.

DHB: (laughs)

RB: And, and if we dig deep, one of my all time favorite crazy films is Jesus Christ, uh, Vampire Hunter.

DHB: Vampire Hunter, yep.

RB: So, if, if that’s something you’d like to hear us do more movie reviews, Lord knows, I think we would have a great time just talking about how’s, how crazy some of these films are coming out. Just let us know in the comments be- below or send us a, uh, send us an email or respond to one of our socials.

DHB: Feel free to stalk our fan out there. (laughs)

RB: Yeah, our one fan. He’s out there. We met him. (laughs) But yeah, this has been Ray.

DHB: This has been David.

RB: And our review of Toxic Avenger 2025.

DHB: Go see it in theaters.

Thank you for listening to the AggroCast Resurrected, the official podcast of AggroGamer. For more gaming news and reviews, please check us out at aggrogamer.com. If you enjoyed today’s content, follow and subscribe to get notifications of our next episodes.