Syd (Ray Liotta in his final role) is a drug dealer who loses a shit ton of cocaine in the middle of the wilderness. A bear eats a mess of it and pretty soon, it starts mauling people left and right. When her daughter is abducted by the bear, a concerned mother (Keri Russell) must do whatever it takes to get her back.
A movie about a bear high on cocaine seems like a can’t miss proposition. Somehow, director Elizabeth Banks manages to miss just as much as she connects. I will say that when Cocaine Bear hits the sweet spot, it’s a damned good time. However, every time the film manages to hit a… er… high, it’s usually short-lived.
The problem is the inconsistent tone, which often changes from scene to scene. Reactions to the Cocaine Bear alternate from, “Ha, ha, that bear is high on cocaine” to “Aww, look how cute that bear is on cocaine” to “RUN! THAT FUCKING BEAR IS HIGH ON COCAINE!” Had the movie been comprised of mainly the latter reaction, it could’ve been a party.
Banks never decides how to approach the film. Parts feel like a foulmouthed version of a ‘90s Amblin movie. Other parts feel like a Coen Brothers crime comedy. The best parts feel like a SYFY Channel (or maybe even a Tubi) Original. That is to say, the bear attack scenes.
Even then, the bear attack scenes are uneven. There’s nothing here that manages to reach the heights of Grizzly. Heck, there’s nothing here that manages to reach the heights of Grizzly 2!
Banks does give us one terrific sequence that almost (but not quite) makes up for the lapses elsewhere in the film. It comes when the bear takes off in pursuit of a speeding ambulance. There are some gruesome moments and fun action beats to be had here. It’s just a shame Banks couldn’t pepper the rest of the film with the same kind of kinetic kick.
The cast is also a mixed bag. Alden Ehrenreich is great as the drug dealer with a conscience. He’s had the misfortune of starring in a couple of box office misfires, so maybe this flick will help put him back on the map. O’Shea Jackson Jr. is pretty good too as his partner in crime and Margo Martindale is fun as a trigger-happy park ranger. Although it was nice seeing Liotta one last time, he isn’t given a whole lot to do. Russell in particular is left out to dry essaying the generic mom role.
Overall, Cocaine Bear is fun in fits and starts. Most of the time, it feels like Banks is holding back as the gore isn’t quite as nasty as it could’ve been, given the premise. Hopefully, somewhere down the road we’ll get a release that’s totally, ahem, uncut.
I thought this was really damn fun personally, also this isn't actually Liotta's final role, he died while filming another movie called Dangerous Waters, not sure if he managed to finish filming all of his scenes or not.
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