1984’s low-budget action comedy The Toxic Avenger enjoyed little theatrical profile but became a cult classic on home video. More than 40 years later, 2025’s remake of the same title hopes to follow that same path, as it didn’t make a dent at the box office.

Widower Winston Gooze (Peter Dinklage) continues to work through grief after the death of his wife and he struggles to care for anxiety-ridden teen stepson Wade (Jacob Tremblay). Matters go from bad to worse when Winston learns he suffers from a terminal brain disease that his insurance plan doesn’t cover.

When shot by corrupt businessman Bob Garbinger’s (Kevin Bacon) goons in a case of mistaken identity, Winston dies… briefly, until exposure to a vat of toxic waste brings him back to life. Now mutated, he boasts superpowers that he uses to get revenge and clean up evil.

If you look up this version of Avenger on Wikipedia or IMDB, they call it a 2023 movie because it debuted that year. However, it encountered trouble when the producers sought a distributor.

Cineverse finally put it in wide release August 2025, but audiences largely ignored it. It flopped out of the gate, which brought me to my remarks about how those involved with the 2025 edition need to hope it finds a cult crowd ala its 1984 predecessor.

Obviously we won’t get an answer to that for years to come. One thing I can state for certain: the 2025 Avenger offers a radically superior movie when compared to the original.

To some degree, it feels like apples/oranges to compare the two given the circumstances of their productions. The 1984 film cost a mere $500,000 and came from a bunch of unknowns.

While I couldn’t find definitive budget info for the 2025 Avenger, it appears to have been in the neighborhood of $50 million, or 100 times more than its predecessor without compensation for inflation. It also involves famous and acclaimed actors such as Dinklage, Tremblay, Bacon and Elijah Wood.

Given the different circumstances of these two productions, it can seem somewhat unfair to compare them. But I will anyway!

Actually, even if I ignore the existence of the 1984 film, I like the 2025 Avenger. While I can’t claim it fires on all cylinders, it offers a pretty solid mix of horror, superhero action and satirical comedy.

Its positives simply become more apparent when viewed against the 1984 production. Although I liked the basic concept behind that one, it came across as a movie that thought it was smarter than it was, as its satire and humor failed to connect.

Avenger 2025 pursues these same goals but it does so much more successfully. It mixes the wildness of the original with actual cleverness.

Those factors make the 2025 flick a largely appealing mix of satire, comedy, action and drama. This Avenger manages to balance all these elements in a positive manner that melds well.

As mentioned, the 2025 edition boasts a tremendous upgrade in terms of cast, and all do well. None of them act like they’re “slumming” so they add to the experience.

While the 1984 movie enjoys fans due to its semi-intentional cheesiness, the 2025 Avenger offers a much more competent film. It might lack the drive-in vibe of its predecessor but I find it substantially more entertaining.

Footnote: a tag scene appears immediately at the start of the end credits. A goofy segment also follows at their conclusion.

The Toxic Avenger appears in an aspect ratio of 2.39:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. This turned into a surprisingly strong presentation.

Sharpness appeared terrific. If any softness issues materialized along the way, they escaped me, as the end product remained well-defined.

No issues with jagged edges or shimmering popped up, and I saw no edge haloes. Print flaws also didn’t appear.

The movie’s palette leaned toward an appropriately toxic green, with other hues sprinkled in as well. The colors seemed well-reproduced and full.

Blacks felt deep and dense, while shadows looked smooth and concise. Across the board, the movie delivered strong visuals.

In addition, the movie’s DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio added great dimensionality to the effort. With many action scenes, the mix used the various channels to create a lively, vivid soundscape.

This meant various elements zipped around the room in a smooth, convincing manner. Different kinds of mayhem brought out well-placed material that blended together in a nicely integrated way. The soundfield meshed together to deliver a well-rounded impression.

Audio quality also impressed, with speech that seemed natural and concise. Music appeared vivid and full, with dynamic tones.

Effects fared best of all, as those elements seemed accurate and tight, with crisp highs and deep lows. As I expect from a movie of this sort, the soundtrack excelled.

A few extras flesh out the set, and we find an audio commentary from writer/director Macon Blair. He provides a running, screen-specific look at the source and its adaptation, story and characters, influences and references, cast and performances, sets and locations, effects, stunts/action, music and connected domains.

Chatty and lively, Blair covers a lot of territory and does so well. He throws out some amusing snark along with a lot of production insights – and even calls Toxie creator Lloyd Kaufman for a brief chat late in the track.

Along with the movie’s trailer, we get a few featurettes, and A Toxic Environment runs 13 minutes, six seconds. It brings notes from Blair, producers Alex Garcia and Lloyd Kaufman, production Alex Cameron, set decorator Elizabeth Boller, creature effects supervisor Charles Bluett, and actors Elijah Wood, Peter Dinklage, Jacob Tremblay, Taylour Paige, Kevin Bacon, and Louisa Guerreiro.

The show looks at the movie's tone and Blair's approach, story/characters, cast and performances, sets and locations, and the Toxie costume. "Environment" mixes happy talk with an adequate mix of decent notes.

Toxic Shock spans 10 minutes, 14 seconds and features B-movie actor Tiffany Shepis and a narrator as they discuss the Toxic Avenger legacy and the series' revival. Tongue in cheek, it comes with some chuckles but not much more.

Finally, 40th Anniversary of The Toxic Avenger goes for 15 minutes, three seconds. and shows human Aaron Christensen as he chats with hand puppets about the Toxie films. The presentation seems bizarre but the participants present enough fan-based notes to sort of work.

An update on a 1980s cult classic, the 2025 take on The Toxic Avenger provides a surprisingly delightful affair. As a mix of satire, action and superhero drama, the remake easily betters its predecessor. The Blu-ray comes with excellent picture and audio as well supplements highlighted by a terrific commentary. The 2025 Toxie turns into a fun flick.