'The Toxic Avenger: Part 3 - The Last Temptation of Toxie' Really is the beginning of the downfall of the franchise for me honestly, the moment that things quickly and sharply started going downhill. and the only thought that really ran through my mind through all of this is 'Wow...this is actually pretty boring.' Which is astounding given this series only one entry prior was turning people into ramen bowls and two entries prior was gorily running over children.
The plot? things more or less pick up shortly after the events of 'Toxie: Part 2' With 'Apocalypse Inc.' banished and Tromaville back on the straight and narrow, things are looking up! with Tromaville turning into one of the most crime free and pleasent places in New Jersey to visit...In fact, Toxie has done his job TOO well...theres no crime to fight, and what was (at best) a 'making ends meet' job as a superhero has all but dried up. Leading him to commit the ultimate in moral degridation...He has to work for the tax office.
However, a thread of hope arrives in the mail when Toxie's fiance Claire gets an offer for elective advanced laser surgery that could entirely cure her blindness. However, theres a catch...the operation costs $375,000. Obviously they cant afford it, and Toxie begins to question his life choices, is he the right person for Claire?, or his he still just some dweeby mop boy deep down. Haunted by nightmares in which he's mocked by his dweeby 'inner' melvin. He eventually recieves an offer of work from a mysterious company...they offer him the full 375 grand up front, and in exchange all Toxie has to do is advocate for the company and run a few business deals.
However, the company is non other than 'Apocalypse inc.' and part of their contract means that Toxie is legally bound to follow their orders in perpetuity and that Toxie must 'Worship' the companies owner...Toxie mishears 'Worship me' as 'Work for me' and signs immediately, granting Claire sight...and turning Toxie into the poster boy for a city wise chemical dumping scheme AND transforming him into the worst kind of monster of all...a YUPPIE.
What I will say is that this film does open strong with a pretty nice couple of scenes featuring some muggers trying to rob and intimidate a video store filled with ONLY troma tapes (I had to chuckle at the muggers threats to restock the video store with 'top 20 bestsellers' which made the store customers shriek in horror.)
Unfortuantely for me, that was probably the best of the film...and it all happens in the first 10-15 minutes or so. The rest of the film is just a pretty flat plotline about Toxie being seduced by money and power into doing bad things. They start to become really picky with what 'Lore' to follow in this edition, which...I know Lloyd Kaufman isnt exactly a shining beacon of 'preserving contiunuity'. But you cant base your entire last film around 'Tromatons' driving Toxies moral compass and causing him to beast out when evil is afoot...then in this film have him spend MOST of the movie with bad guys, but not even get an inkling.
The film clocks in again at almost an hour and 45...and while last time I could just about manage that because things were so high energy and it still had a real tone and feeling of being snarkily self aware. But this entry is much more reliant on stock footage from the previous two films and spends a good chunk of the runtime going round in circles and things pretty much collapse into just...'showing unrelated scenes one after another' by the time we get to the third act... This film pretty much tonally shifts us even FURTHER into comedy and away from graphic horror. To the point that we're now pretty fully into 'Bad Comedy' terratory for most of the runtime.
I can handle some bad comedy, but this ones kind of triple bluffed itself into a situation where its a anarchic, snarky and acidic franchise, parodying a parable and the whole Yuppie/Clean living movement...But because it gets SO engrossed in the detail of its parody...it pretty much just ends up BECOMING the thing its trying to parody...only with more gunge and softcore thrown into the mix.
There also doesnt seem to be that much of interest going on in the film, bearing in mind the first film had high speed car chases and visceral gore, the second had extravigant locations and unique comedic kills...this film, at most; has a few interesting 'dream sequence' effects, a couple of interesting transformation effects, and a shot of a school bus going off a cliff in a quarry...thats about it, which is quite the step down from the last couple of films.
Add to that, that the characters arnt particularly engaging here. Toxie doesnt really get any particularly great lines, the Apocalypse Inc. folks are all pretty muted throughout...
In fact, I think thats this films biggest problem, its not chaotic enough, theres no bite here, no hunger to really truely do ANYTHING with these characters...the vibe I get from this film is that it was made almost out of obligation, because the last film went down well and they thought they should strike while the irons hot. Unfortunately; this wasnt the kind of story I imagine most folks had in mind.
That being said, outside of the script, the direction and cine are easily on par with the last film, the quality is there given the budget...though obviously; given that the majority of the film is set in Tromaville, it means we're not QUITE as well off as the last film which shot extensively in Japan...I appreciate that they maintained visual continuity between the two films though, this one may not have much interesting to say, but it still looks really nice and isnt TOO big of a departure visually from the last film (Believe me, we go into freefall on that front with 'Toxie 4'...)
The performances arnt particularly great in this entry...everyone seems massively toned down from last time. all that aggression and mania has basically been replaced with comedy and screwball characters playing on stereotypes...everyones still kind of goofy and doing what they can to make their roles interesting. But this is not Tromas finest hour (and thats SAYING something)
All in all, I dont think 'Toxie 3' is inherently a bad idea...But I do think it was poorly executed. a lukewarm script and an unenthusiastic cast and scope basically hobble any chance this thing had of really properly trying to land a good impression. While this film absolutely has good moments, its too slow paced, overlong and the tone is now trying WAY too hard to be funny...to actually be funny or engaging.
Not one I can recommend. I think if you've watched Toxie 1 and 2, doing 3 probably wouldnt hurt. But I cant honestly envision myself actively watching 3 on its own...
source https://letterboxd.com/tytdreviews/film/the-toxic-avenger-part-iii-the-last-temptation-of-toxie/
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