Cocaine Bear (2023)

Ever since the premises of “Cocaine Bear” was released, everyone has been wondering whether this latest Elizabeth Banks (“Charlie’s Angels”, “Pitch Perfect 2”) movie would be a triumph or a flop. A movie about a bear who found cocaine and decided to try it: yes, it seems like it might be a great storyline for a short film, but how can you turn that into a long-feature one? Well, Banks shows it to you in this dark, funny, action-packed bear-y good movie!

When looking at the trailer or reading the short synopsis, you might wonder how writer Jimmy Warden (“The Babysitter: Killer Queen”) came up with it. Well, he didn’t have to look that far. The story of “Cocaine Bear” is based on actual events. A Georgia bear in 1985 found a massive amount in the Chattahoochee National Forest and consumed it almost entirely.

According to local authorities, the drugs had fallen from an aeroplane belonging to Andrew Carter Thornton II, a former DEA agent who became a drug trafficker. He decided to put the plane into automatic mode, unload it and then jump from it with cash, weapons and cocaine. Sadly, his parachute never opened. He wasn’t there to enjoy the cocaine, but the bear certainly was.

And that’s how “Cocaine Bear” came to life. If it had been based on actual events, the movie should only have been a few minutes because the bear died almost immediately. Warden needed to add much more to the story to make a whole film out of this.

There are the parties who are directly involved with the drugs, such as drug kingpin Syd (Ray Liotta), his son Eddie (Alden Ehrenreich) and the friend Daveed (O’Shea Jackson, Jr.), who are trying to retrieve the drugs and detective Bob (Isiah Whitlock Jr) who is looking into the missing duffel bags and who has been keeping on an eye on Syd for years.

Some innocent parties are dragged into this, some of which sadly meet a violent end. There are the two hikers Olaf and Elsa (Kristofer Hivju and Hannah Hoekstra), schoolgirl Dee Dee (Brooklynn Prince), her friend Henry (Christian Convery) and her mum (Keri Russell), Park Ranger Liz (Margo Martindale) and animal-rights activist Peter (Jesse Tyler Ferguson).

The star of this movie is, without a doubt, the bear itself and the CGI team who brought her (yes, it’s a she) to life. The special effects are stunningly done, and if you add the roaring sound, you feel that you’re standing face-to-face with that crazy bear in the middle of the woods.

We highly recommend watching this movie on the biggest screen and with the most impressive sound system possible because that is the only way you’ll get the whole “Cocaine Bear” edge-of-your-seat experience. Yes, sometimes the bear looks rough and ready, but for some reason, that adds even more horror to this movie, especially during the very effective jump scares.

Not only the bear sound effect makes this movie roar, but also the soundtrack does. It’s rock ‘n roll, vibrant, fast-paced and powerful. While we can’t say the same about the entire movie, we can use that description for most scenes in “Cocaine Bear”.

The bear makes a lot of victims in this movie, but the real victims of “Cocaine Bear” are indeed the talented but underused cast. The characters are just there to support the bear, which sadly results in unhinged storylines and underdeveloped jokes.

That being said, the cast members are doing everything they can to portray their characters in the best way possible, and for most of them, it works. Prince (“The Florida Project”, “The Turning”) and Convery (“Playing with Fire”, “Aliens Stole My Body”) bring so much fun, innocence and rock ‘n roll to this movie while their on-screen mother, Russell (“Antlers”, “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”) gives a compelling and relatable performance.

Liotta (“Goodfellas”, “Killing Them Softly”) reminds us a little bit of Michael Shannon in “Bullet Train” as his acting is dark and mysterious but also funny and entertaining at the same time. The most hilarious duo in this movie is certainly Jackson, Jr (“Straight Outta Compton”, “Ingrid Goes West”) – Ehrenreich (“Blue Jasmine”, “Beautiful Creatures”) as the estranged friends. While their performances might already be amusing, they could have been even better if the characters had much more depth.

“Cocaine Bear” might not be for everyone as some might say it’s too silly, weird or over-the-top, and while that is sometimes the case, this movie is much more than that. Despite the underused cast and underdeveloped characters, the stunning CGI, special effects and make-up ensure that this movie provides 95 minutes of entertainment, gore and fun.