An Apex Predator High On Cocaine

Cocaine Bear, starring Ray Liotta and Keri Russel is a chaotic but somewhat entertaining 90 minutes.

Intro

A film that took social media by storm, Cocaine Bear, directed by Elizabeth Banks, went viral when the movie was first announced. Inspired by a true story, the film revolves around a group of individuals who each encounter a black bear high on drugs left in the forest by drug dealers. While the acting isn’t great, and the storyline is rather laughable, the humor and straight-up chaos throughout the movie make it watchable.

Storylines

The story begins with bags of cocaine being thrown out of a plane as a drug-moving strategy. The bags land in the forest of a wildlife park where drug dealers were supposed to go collect them. However, a black bear gets to it first. Now high on cocaine, it terrorizes kids, teenagers, rangers, criminals, and more. Several smaller plots are interwoven together, each with its own set of characters and motives. If the stories were executed better and written with more complexity, the film could have had good potential and possibly turned out similar to something like Bullet Train. However, the stories and characters are far too shallow, and it’s clear that the director cared more about silliness and humor rather than good story writing.

Acting

The acting, for the most part, is subpar, and the dialogues are mediocre. Ray Liotta delivered a good performance in what would be his last feature on the silver screen before his passing in May 2022. The rest of the cast is divided into two camps, those in the film purely for humor and those who drive the plot line forward. The highlight of the movie is easily the bear, as the CGI is phenomenal. As far as any scene the bear is in, the directing and cinematography are very suspenseful and captivating. It even begins to feel somewhat like a horror/slasher movie as the bear chases down and kills characters one by one. The balance of horror with humor creates a relatively entertaining experience for viewers.

Closing Critiques

Now I can’t say it’s a great film, but it isn’t terrible either. If you’re a casual moviegoer or want to watch a movie with your friends, Cocaine Bear will make for a good time. However, for any hardcore film fanatics and cinephiles, the movie won’t be worth the 15 bucks and 90 minutes of your precious time.

Raving Rating: 6.5