With a title like Cocaine Bear, there are bound to be a lot of expectations. Some may expect a crazy thrill ride, while others may anticipate a hilarious CGI comedy, and some may expect something in between. Regardless, Cocaine Bear, directed by Elizabeth Banks, and an ensemble cast that includes Keri Russell, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Christian Convery, fails to deliver on any of these expectations. For a movie about a bear that does coke, it lacks the highs.
In 1985, a drug smuggler throws a duffel bag of cocaine out of a plane, hoping to parachute down with it when things go wrong. As a result, pounds of coke get lost in the forest when a giant bear finds it and eats it. Thus begins the gimmick that is Cocaine Bear. The film does not hit any of its marks, whether comedic or action-wise. Although there are a couple of mildly entertaining sequences and some small jokes that may make you chuckle, the film is overall dull and slogs on after a while.
Cocaine Bear focuses too much on the human characters, which would not be a problem if they were entertaining to watch. However, aside from some of O’Shea Jackson Jr. and Alden Ehrenreich’s scenes together, there are too many characters that fall flat. None of them get enough screen time to evoke any kind of emotional response. Even if the action and crazy cocaine antics were entertaining enough, I could not overlook this fact, but unfortunately, not even the action hits the mark.
Lastly, the film fails to have enough fun. If you are watching a movie based on true events about a bear that ate pounds of cocaine, you would expect the movie to be as hilarious as its title. Unfortunately, nothing lives up to the title, which is a shame. If you are looking for a mild good time, you may enjoy Cocaine Bear. However, if you expect more than a C- film that feels longer than its 95-minute runtime, you may want to skip this one.
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