After The Toxic Avenger and Class of Nuke ‘Em High were hits, Troma hoped Troma’s War would be another hit. Unfortunately, the film was severely trimmed at the behest of the MPAA, and the cut version released was a flop. Because of this, any hope of Troma being able to compete with the major studios was quickly dashed. Moving forward, Troma would be reworked into an independent studio, putting more emphasis on doing their thing rather than competing. To try and bounce back, Lloyd Kaufman decided to make a sequel to his most popular film at the time. It was decided to film a large part of the film in Japan to expand its reach in foreign markets. Unfortunately, none of the original cast returned, and there were some issues regarding the Japanese actors’ ability to speak English. Eventually, The Toxic Avenger Part II was released in 1989.
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Synopsis
Tromaville has become a nice place to live since The Toxic Avenger (Ron Fazio) cleaned up all the crime. Unfortunately, Toxie is severely depressed since there’s no evil to beat up, though his blind girlfriend Claire (Phoebe Legere) helps. However, the evil organization Apocalypse Inc, led by the Chairman (Rick Collins) and his assistant Malfaire (Lisa Gaye), is emerging. After losing some of their men to Toxie, the organization tries figuring out how to get Toxie out of Tromaville. Thanks to his psychologist, they learn that Toxie has father issues and that his father lives in Tokyo. Toxie is convinced to travel to Tokyo to find his father, along the way meeting Japanese local Masami (Mayako Katsuragi). With her help, he finds his long-lost father Big Mac Junko (Rikiya Yasuoka), who’s been smuggling drugs with fish. Will Toxie have to kill his own father, and what will happen to Tromaville?
Review
While it expands on what the original established, The Toxic Avenger Part II feels somewhat excessive and longer than expected. There are fun and ridiculous action sequences, but many of them go on for longer than they should. At times, it feels like the filmmakers were more concerned with doing something goofy rather than moving the plot forward. For instance, the opening sequence has at least three to five fight sequences that go on for roughly 10 minutes. Admittedly, there are some moments of silly over-the-top gore thrown in, but they drag out the runtime considerably. Things don’t change much once Toxie’s in Tokyo, as the same emphasis on action and violence over the story continues. At slightly over 90 minutes, it feels longer due to the messy pacing and scenes that seemingly never end. It feels like excess for the sake of excess rather than delivering a message.
That said, this is still an entertaining film that’ll more than satisfy any hardcore Troma fan and then some. While not as good as Mitch Cohen, Ron Fazio makes for a good Toxie, even if his voice is off. Rick Collins and Lisa Gaye make for fun over-the-top villains, clearly chewing up every bit of scenery around them. Phoebe Legere can be a bit grating as Claire, but she provides enough fan service to satiate any Tromaholic. It’s somewhat difficult to judge Rikiya Yasuoka and Mayako Katsuragi’s performances since they’re dubbed, but they’re very expressive and active. Jessica Dublin, returning from Troma’s War, is fun as Toxie’s mom, though she isn’t given much to do. While the sequel is a bit of a mess, but it’s still just as entertaining as any other Troma film. Overall, The Toxic Avenger Part II is a flawed but enjoyable follow-up to the original.
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