The Toxic Avenger Part 2 was a film that I was very disappointed in when I first saw it. Most Troma fans have been, mostly because of the change of style and humor. While The Toxic Avenger had a more dark and silly sense of humor, Part 2 is more cartoony and goofy. Many people fresh from seeing the first film were angry with this change. But does that make this sequel bad?
Toxie sure has been busy since the first movie. He's cleaned up all of the crime in Tromaville and made it a nice place to stay! His relationship with his blind girlfriend(played by the overacting Pheobe Legere), who's name has changed to Claire for reasons unexplained, has continued and because he's cleaned up all of the crime, the only thing he has to do is help her work at the Tromaville Center for the Blind. Unbeknowest to Toxie, an evil conglomorate company, Apocalypse Inc., has plans to take over Tromaville. But first they have to get rid of Toxie, so they send him on a wild goose chase to Japan to find his long-lost father. Wackiness ensues while The Toxic Avenger learns Japanese culture.
As I mentioned before, I absolutely abhorred The Toxic Avenger Part 2 when I first saw it. I was wanting more of the same type of humor, but instead got a wacky, nearly cartoon-like sequel. Upon a second viewing, I now can appreciate the humor of the film and I enjoy it. It may not be the best thing for all Troma fans, but it is pretty entertaining. The majority of the film is spent educating the audience about Japanese culture, while still keeping up with the gore fans by having pretty nice special effects from Pericles Lewnes(who directed Redneck Zombies and did the effects in several other Troma movies).
Unfortunately, the deep, hilarious,obviously overdubbed voice of The Toxic Avenger, has changed into a nerdy higher pitched voice. Lloyd Kaufman has even apologized for this, by having Toxie's voice be deeper for Citizen Toxie. The same goes for the unexplained name change of Toxie's girlfriend, who was Sarah in the first film, and now known as Claire.
While all Troma fans may not be able to get into the different style of humor, The Toxic Avenger Part 2 is definately not an entire loss and fans should definately go about seeing it, just for the historical value it has in the Troma timeline.
Rating: 3 out of 5
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