Welcome back to the battlefield. Today we see two terrific movies battle for domination of the battlefield. The Toxic Avenger, a Troma DIY text book bad acting classic and an Asian import Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky. Before I begin my review I have to warn my readers that this review has graphic language and certain racial slurs that neither I nor Ingenre.com condone but, in the interest of bringing you, the facts I have included. Now I do have to admit that both of the mentioned offensive possibilities, in context, are rather funny. I wouldn’t have included if I didn’t think so. So once again, I warn you. This article may offend some. So if you think you might be one of those people then please, please, please stop and read another article. Otherwise, once again, welcome to the battlefield.
The Toxic Avenger stars Melvin, the mop boy at Tromaville health club, picked on and laughed at constantly. One day the health club bullies play a joke which see’s Melvin jumping out a window into a vat of toxic waste. The toxic waste transforms him into a deformed mess of human sludge. He becomes something he could never be, a protector of the people. Is this new found ability a blessing for the streets of Tromaville or is the mayor correct in believing its more of a curse? The Story of Ricky takes place in 2001 AD; prisons have become franchised businesses. The system is corrupt and there is nothing anyone can do about it. Riki-Oh comes on the scene and shows the prison that he is not one to be messed with. With super human strength and knowledge of an ancient form of Kung Fu, he dominates all and shows them that there is now someone new to fear in the cell block. Will he be able to straighten out the system or will the evil warden break his spirit?
Effects are most often the defining marks of a great B-Movie. Troma, for years have been doing it right. They have been the godfather of B-movies and the effects they use are second rate, which is why we all love them. The Toxic Avenger for most of the movie is running around in tights and a tutu. The camera angles are all used to their benefit and give the viewer a great experience. Riki-Oh is also, for an Asian import, rather impressive with the effects they implement. This category would be a tie if I didn’t feel it necessary to tip my hat to Troma for their constant demonstration of B-movie genius. I know what you’re thinking, should I really give the category to The Toxic Avenger based solely on the company’s name and record of consistency? Of course I should. IT’S TROMA.
The kill scenes in both these movies are absolutely hilarious. I gave both of them the highest blood rating I could which has never happened. They both showed amazing amounts of blood, people dismembered and in both cases people using body parts and organs to beat up on each other. One notable kill scene from The Toxic Avenger shows a bunch of men walking into a taco shop to rob and maim the guests. They kill a man who opposes them and then kill a Seeing Eye dog, with a shotgun and the dog flies across the room. I might be going to hell, but I nearly wet myself with laughter. The leader of the gang decides that now that the Seeing Eye dog is dead, he is going to seize the moment and “Corn hole a blind bitch”. Enter the Toxic Avenger, after a round of fisticuffs he tears the leaders arm completely off and beats him stupid with it. He stuffs him in the pizza oven and turns his attention to the first of the two henchmen. He hold down the henchman and makes a milkshake in his mouth, carefully placing a cherry and adding the right amount of chocolate syrup, then blends his face off. He follows up it with deep-frying the second henchman’s hands. After this kill sequence he goes to assist the blind woman and the Toxic Avenger who previous to now has not spoken and only grunted then talks. To my surprise he talks in a deep sultry tone which of course elicits uncontrollable laughter. 
Riki-Oh is no slouch in this category either; they reinvent the prison shower scene to such a bloody degree that for me at least it will never be the same. The prisoners are told to shower, take a shit or do laundry, but do it all in 15 minutes. Ricky decides that he will opt for a shower, since he never actually changes his clothes for the entire movie, spanning what appear to be several weeks. While he is enjoying a nice moment in the shower, Zorro, a massive behemoth of a man comes up behind him and yells his name. Normally in most prison movies this would be the precursor for a good raping but not in Riki-Oh, oh no, following that Zorro delivers a punch that knocks Ricky across the room. Ricky, in shock, sizes up his new attacker. Zorro informs he has been paid multiple pounds of rice to take Ricky and grind him up into mince meat for the specific purpose of putting him into a pie. Ricky asks, in what feels like an unnamed tribute to Clint Eastwood, “Think you can do it?” . Zorro roars in some bloated battle cry and begins his attack, Ricky counters by punching a hole in Zorro’s massive gut. The blood pours out as does intestines. Zorro falls to the ground in a graphic display of blood splatter. Both of these movies are amazing in this respect but I have never in all the movies I have watched seen a sequence where someone strangles their combatant with their own Intestines. The whole thing left my eyes in disbelief and my jaw agape. For this reason I have to give this category to Riki-Oh.
Finally we have the one liner. This category is always fun because I usually let myself a couple days to see what lines really stick with me and what are most quotable. The Toxic Avenger, to some, could be considered a very offensive and crude movie. I would think that if you were one of those people you wouldn’t be watching this anyways, you would most likely be watching Fried Green Tomatoes, Beaches or maybe some garbage like Chasing Amy (Note: Kevin Smith is the bomb! But in this reviewers opinion he fell short making that movie. That’s a rant for another time. Please send all hate mail to Hate_mail_review@hotmail.com). We see this movie spout brilliant lines such as;
Bozo: Julie! Julie! The points what are they??!!
Julie: Ok let me see if I can remember the whole list, Jews, Wops, Niggers, and Chinks they’re all worth 25 points, but portoricans, they’re worth 30 points. Kids under 12, they are worth double points.
Bozo: Julie does it count if I graze them?
Julie: Uh Uh, You have to destroy them.
Julie: Melvin I want to do it with you.
Melvin: Do what?
Julie: IT
Melvin: ok.
Toxic Avenger: you can tell all your scum friends things are going to change in this town. I’m not just another pretty face.
Riki-Oh had so much greatness but none of it was really all that memorable, what it excelled in was not in words but in a visual assault of blood and violence. The only true exception to the rule is when Riki-Oh is being admitted to prison and he sets the metal detector off. He is checked and they discover the reading is coming from his chest. The force him to the x-ray machine and they see he has 5 bullets still lodged in his chest. This is the line that follows;
Prison official: why didn’t you let the doctors take the 5 bullets out of you?
Riki-Oh: Souvenirs
Classic. Not enough to get Riki-Oh a win in this category, but classic. Toxic Avenger wins in this category for a poorly written but very witty story and rather quotable lines. It was a tough decision but the reality of the situation is that Riki-Oh was a movie of action and not so much of words.
So with a score of 2-1 we see the Troma classic Toxic Avenger rise victorious. Again, we saw a tight contest. Both movies meet my standards for what I would consider a watchable B-Movie but as The Highlander so succinctly puts it, “there can be only one.“
Merin on 
Captain Z on 
Benton Sartore on 
Heh. It’s been forever since I’ve seen Toxie.
Now, however, I desperately need to see Riki-Oh!
You will not regret that choice. I nearly fell out of my chair.