The Toxic Avenger Part II (1989)

Directed by: Lloyd Kaufman, Michael Herz | 103 minutes | action, comedy, adventure, fantasy | Actors: Ron Fazio, John Altamura, Phoebe Legere, Rick Collins, Rikiya Yasuoka, Tsutomu Sekine, Mayako Katsuragi, Shinoburyo, Lisa Gaye, Jessica Dublin, Jack Cooper, Erika Schickel, Bonnie Garvin, Karen King, Didi Mancuso

The first ‘The Toxic Avenger’ can safely be called a cult hit with some good will. The acting was generally abysmal but that was part of the appeal. Basically it was just a politically incorrect variation on Frankenstein and Superman, with nudity, gore and slapstick as added value. The humor was also simply dry, such as the way this hideous brute growled during his fights, but in between simply conversed in decent English with his blind girlfriend, who saw him as a tough, handsome hero. It was an adorable relationship, which has since been replaced by an unsubtle, flat, over-the-top relationship (with another actress) that’s neither funny nor touching, and contains hardly anything worth watching. And this unfortunately applies to the entire production.

The plot has now become even more nonsensical than in part 1. Through a weak plot point, Toxie, as the hero of these films is affectionately called, is transported to Japan to look for his father. Of course they just wanted to change the location and thereby bring a new impulse to the story, or in the context of this. But the viewer does not benefit much from this. Toxie does exactly the same here as in America, or Tromaville. And this time, he’s not going to tackle the criminals who have been bothering him or his loved ones, but anyone who is being harassed. So now he is a standard superhero like Superman or Batman, who takes on every criminal and fights injustice everywhere. Japan provides little added value, unless it concerns the many bare breasts of Japanese ladies on the street and in a bathhouse. It’s just as fun when Toxie uses two string fish as nunchaku fighting sticks against some kung-fu and samurai fighters (Chinese, Japanese, all the same…), and the head of a swordfish as… sword, but otherwise his trip completely useless. Lots of yelling, running, and useless nakedness.

The sympathetic Frankenstein element, as well as the “subtle” dry humor, is gone, and replaced by a weak Superman plot, complete with the equivalent of Kryptonite to withstand Toxie’s powers. It is especially unfortunate that the humor often does not even bring a smile to the viewer’s face. There is too much ugly slapstick, and the “jokes” are simply uninspired. Strangely enough, the gore is also less spectacular, literally and figuratively. Apart from a squeezed man in a wheelchair and chopped up arms, there are hardly any good gore moments in the film. A dunk with a coiled dwarf may be slightly amusing, but it pretty much ends here. No, even the diehard Toxie fan should ignore this movie. Apart from a handful of more or less successful scenes, there’s no reason to watch ‘The Toxic Avenger Part II’.