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Cocaine Bear Blu-ray Review

“Cocaine Bear” is not beary fun.

Based on true events, the 1985 set “Cocaine Bear” revolves around a drug smuggler’s dumped cocaine that winds up being consumed by a black bear in the mountains of Georgia. The cocaine addicted mother bear becomes violent (to say the least) and ends up preying on unsuspecting victims that include a mother (Sari) looking for her school skipping daughter (Dee Dee) and her friend (Henry), a gangster (Syd), his son (Eddie) and a “fixer” (Daveed), the small-time 3 member Duchamps gang of criminals, a forest ranger (Liz), wildlife activist (Peter), and a cop (Bob). Syd sends Eddie and Daveed to try and recover the cocaine, but obviously things don’t turn out as planned. 

Despite the bizarre true story the film is based on, writer Jimmy Warden’s “Cocaine Bear” is more in the vein of a “Sharknado” type movie. It’s a comedic “when animals attack” horror movie that tries to coast on its titular gimmick. For some this may be a hoot, but for me, it’s severely lacking in all departments. 

After 2019’s dreadful “Charlie’s Angels,” Elizabeth Banks is back in the director’s chair to more middling results. Not only does the movie look and feel cheap, but the tone of the movie is all over the place. It tries to be funny but frequently isn’t due to the overly cartoony characters. The horror elements are also never scary or intense mostly because the CGI bears are so poorly done. The film itself also has so little going on. It’s just a whole lot of scenes of characters running around forests, CGI bears with some violence sprinkled in here and there. Truth be told, I’d rather watch a bad killer animal movie like “Birdemic” instead because that at least has unintentional camp value and is legitimately funny.

The cast is way too good for this movie and is the only interesting element. Alden Ehrenreich shines as a mopey son of a gangster. O’Shea Jackson Jr. continues to show his acting range as the scene-stealing Daveed. Ray Liotta is memorable in one of his final screen roles. Christian Convery steals every scene he is in as the young Henry. Keri Russell is typically good as the nurse/mother looking for her daughter. Brooklynn Prince (Dee Dee), character actor Margo Martindale (Liz) and Isiah Whitlock Jr. (Bob) are also quite good in their respective roles. It’s just a shame the material they have to work falls flat.

Video/Audio:

Presentation: 2.39:1 1080p. How does it look? Expect a sharp hi-def transfer.

Audio Track: 7.1 DTS-HD MA. How does it sound? You can never go wrong with a 7.1 track. 

Extras:
* 4 ½ minutes of deleted/extended scenes.
* Alternate ending.
* A 2 minute gag reel.
* “All Roads Lead To Cokey: The Making Of Cocaine Bear” contains interviews, film clips, discussions about the real life story, set footage, and more.
* “Unbearable Bloodbath: Dissecting The Kills”- A behind-the-scenes look at the making of a few of the death scenes.
* Commentary by Elizabeth Banks and producer Max Handelman.
* “Doing Lines”- Cast members dramatically read the script.

April 16, 2023 - Posted by nicklyons1 | Blu-Ray review | Alden Ehrenreich, Cocaine Bear, Cocaine Bear Blu-ray Review, Comedy, Elizabeth Banks, horror, Ray Liotta