Review: Cocaine Bear
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THE PLOT
Inspired by the true eighties story of a drug runner’s plane crash, missing cocaine, and the black bear that ate it, this wild dark comedy finds an oddball group of cops, criminals, tourists, and teens converging in a Georgia forest where a five hundred pound apex predator has ingested a staggering amount of cocaine and gone on a coke-fueled rampage for more blow - and blood.
QUICK REVIEW
I know what you’re thinking. Luis, what the Hell are you doing randomly reviewing a film that came out a few weeks ago? Especially at a time that all the hype and clicks to be made this weekend are on the latest Scream film and the Oscars? Well put simply COVID knocked me on my ass and I wasn’t able to catch up with this one until now and I figured I’d write down some quick thoughts on it.
I’ll say this to Cocaine Bear’s credit. The film’s initial set up in the first act is done very well. There’s a tongue in cheek tone to it and we’re introduced to some quirky characters that had me chuckling in my seat plenty. The bear’s CGI is a little too noticeable but I’ve seen a lot worse.
Unfortunately something seems to happen once the plot gets going. The pacing starts to feel a bit off, the tones start to mish-mash in a way that doesn’t work for a few story beats, and the comedy starts to veer into overly silly territory even with the tongue in cheek mood. Not to mention characters start to vanish for a long time before showing up again as if the movie forgot about them. There’s also some character arcs that are set up and just completely forgotten about. This is the definition of a movie that loses steam as it goes.
That said I can also see how this could be an entertaining watch for some. Where as my issues with Scream VI weren’t big enough to keep from still just about liking that film overall, the issues I had with Cocaine Bear didn’t sit right with me to the point that I came away very mixed on the movie. Ultimately this ends up in the higher C range for me.
INTIAL GRADING
