Cocaine Bear

Summary

“Apex predator… high on cocaine… and you’re going towards it?”

Universal Pictures has just released the 2022 horror-comedy Cocaine Bear on 4K UHD. Universal had previously released the film on Blu-ray, but solid demand for the picture warranted a full scale 4K release. I was extremely excited to own the film in the best format possible, because, in my opinion, Cocaine Bear was one of the better mainstream film releases of last year. 

Cocaine Bear was directed by actress and film producer Elizabeth Banks. I first became aware of Elizabeth Banks through her acting in the film Wet Hot American Summer. That film has long been one of my favorite comedies and it exposed me to her excellent sense of humor before her prominent roles in films such as The Hunger Games. From the beginning of the film, when the song Jane by Jefferson Starship began to play (just like at the beginning of Wet Hot American Summer,) I knew that the movie was going to probably provide lots of laughs along with the vicious maulings doled out by the bear. The film is billed as being based on a true story. The elements of the story that are true are slight. a drug smuggler named Andrew C. Thornton did drop cocaine out of a plane over the Chattahoochee National Forest before perishing. A bear did consume a massive amount of cocaine. Those are the only true aspects of the script. In real life, the cocaine simply killed the bear. In the film, the cocaine makes the bear immediately addicted, extremely strong and fast, and ignites a vicious temper towards anyone or anything that would get in the way of it snorting more cocaine. If all this sounds completely hilarious to you (as it did to me,) then there is no real reason to read any more of this review. Go ahead and check out the movie. It delivers all of the violent hilarity that a film named Cocaine Bear should deliver. If the premise does not sound up your alley, you can probably quit reading here also.

As the film begins, in 1985, drug smuggler Andrew Thornton (Matthew Rhys) flies over the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest. He drops a large shipment of cocaine out of his airplane with the intent of parachuting to safety wearing a large duffle bag of cocaine before retrieving his cocaine. He accidentally bumps his head and falls out of the plane to his death unconscious. His body lands in Knoxville, Tennessee and is identified by a detective named Bob (Isaiah Whitlock Jr.) Bob explains to another detective that the cocaine was more than likely meant for a drug kingpin out of St. Louis named Syd White (Ray Liotta.) In the forrest, an American black bear ingests some of the cocaine. Two European hikers, Elsa and Olaf (Kristofer Hivju,) encounter the bear and are viciously attacked. Elsa is killed. In Northeast Georgia, single mom Sari (Keri Russell) raises her middle school aged daughter Dee Dee (Brooklynn Prince.) Sari is a trauma nurse. Dee Dee skips school with her best friend Henry (Christian Convery) so that they can go into the forrest and paint a picture of some nearby water falls. They stumble upon a bag of cocaine and eat a little bit of it before the bear comes across them. Sari, learning that her daughter is missing from school, alerts a park ranger named Liz (Margo Martindale) and a wildlife activist named Peter (Jesse Tyler Ferguson.) They wander into the woods together to find the kids. Meanwhile, in St. Louis, Syd sends Daveed (O’Shea Jackson Jr.) and his son Eddie (Alden Ehrenreich) to the woods to try to locate the missing cocaine shipment. Eddie is dealing with feelings of depression from the recent death of his wife and his subsequent abandonment of his son. As these characters and more come into the path of the bear – high on cocaine and super aggressive – hilarity and violence ensues.

Cocaine Bear is an absolute blast. The first night I attempted to watch the film, I was laughing so heartily at it, that after forty five minutes I paused the movie so that I could watch it together with my brother. The script by Jimmy Warden is an extremely clever execution of an extremely dumb premise. The film delivers laugh after laugh over its runtime, and only in the very final moments of the film did I feel that the pace dragged a little. The maulings in the film are completely vicious and brutal, delivering much more blood and gore than many mainstream horror films would dare to show. Luckily, all that violence is done to give belly laughs to the audience, so film lovers who go in expecting to laugh at dark comedic moments will find the film to be a riot. The writing never aims for anything remotely realistic and is all the better for it. Who the hell would want realism when we can watch a bear loaded up on coke outrun a medical vehicle T-1000 style so that it can kill the paramedics inside? Everything is tongue-in-cheek and ridiculous, and it left a big grin on my face throughout the film.

Keri Russell is perfectly cast as Sari, the heroine mother searching for her missing daughter in the forrest. Russell is an extremely capable actress and has proven her mettle on the show The Americans, so I thought this was inspired casting. She nails the role. Margo Martindale plays the park ranger Liz. I loved her work on the television show Justified, and she is absolutely hilarious in this role. She steals every scene in which she appears. Alden Ehrenreich is another well cast actor. I felt bad that his career seemed to take a bit of a dive after the film Solo. While Alden looks nothing like Harrison Ford, he had a charismatic take on the character that I thought worked. I actually enjoyed that movie pretty well and I was happy to see him return in a prominent role. He is very funny in the film. Hopefully Hollywood will give him some more large roles because he has a great screen presence. Ice Cube’s son O’Shea Jackson Jr. is likewise very funny in the film. He has a real knack for comedy mixed with a solid physicality that I hope is explored in future comedic projects. Ray Liotta also gave his final performance in the film. As one would expect, he added something to every scene he was in. It does not take much to convince the audience that Liotta is a hardened drug dealer. He was a fantastic actor and will be sorely missed. The two children actors, Brooklyn Prince and Christian Convery, are both likable in their roles. Smaller parts played by Isaiah Whitlock Jr., Jesse Tyler Ferguson, and Kristofer Hivju are not phoned in, delivering big laughs. Elizabeth Banks does a wonderful job of having all of the actors in the film live up to their full potential. All of the jokes land under her direction, and the action sequences are extremely impressive. Keeping in mind that all of these actors were interacting with a stuntman walking around on sticks with a bear face hanging off his head, it is really impressive everything that Elizabeth and her team got into the can. 

Cocaine Bear probably would not come together completely if the visual effects of the picture didn’t deliver. Luckily, the computer generated bear looks fantastic. I am a huge advocate for practical effects whenever they are possible, and this film uses practical effects on gore whenever it can, but this film could never be made if we were not in such a technically advanced age. I’m glad that all that computing power of our times could be used towards such a ridiculous concept.

Overall –  Cocaine Bear made me laugh a lot. For those of you that can get behind the ridiculous premise of the film, it delivers the goods.

Video

Presented in Native 4K in an aspect ratio of 2.39:1, Cocaine Bear looks fantastic in Universal’s UHD presentation. The film was shot on digital film using Arri Alexa LF cameras in 4.5K RAW format. The 4K transfer comes from the 4K digital intermediate made of the film. It reasons that this is essentially reference quality. Cocaine Bear was shot by cinematographer John Gulesarian, who recently impressed me with his work on Nia DaCosta’s Candyman. He brings the very best out of the outdoor surroundings. It must have been quite an undertaking given the amount of CGI work involved regarding the bear. I was initially disappointed when Universal had announced only a Blu-ray release of Cocaine Bear. Thankfully they have given the film a 4K release because it definitely benefits from the increased resolution of the 4K format. At the end of the day, this is essentially a reference quality transfer.

Audio

Cocaine Bear originally shipped on Blu-ray with a DTS-HD MA 7.1 track. Universal has upgraded that track to a full blown Atmos track. I thought that the Atmos track sounded fantastic. From the first moments as Jefferson Starship’s “Jane” rips across the surround channels, I knew this track was going to be a lot of fun. This track is a beast and it absolutely roars on 4K. 

Supplements:

• Audio Commentary – Director/Producer Elizabeth Banks and Producer Max Handelman discuss the film.
• Alternate Ending
• Gag Reel
• Deleted & Extended Scenes
• All Roads Lead to Cokey: The Making of Cocaine Bear
• Unbearable Bloodbath: Dissecting the Kills
• Doing Lines

Overall Scores:

Video: 5

Audio: 5

Special Features: 3.5

Overall – 4.5/5

Cocaine Bear really made me laugh. I had an absolute blast watching this ridiculously over-the-top violent horror-comedy. If you are game to enjoy a comedy about a cocaine addicted bear prone to mauling civilians, the movie absolutely delivers in spades. The actors in the film are all well cast and aside from the film’s script slightly running out of steam towards the end of the film, the concept is executed exceptionally well. Based on this endeavor, I definitely look forward to seeing what project Elizabeth Banks spearheads next. Fans of the film will be happy to know that Universal has brought the film to 4K UHD with a digital transfer straight from the 4K master. The film looks fantastic in the format and absolutely benefits from the enhanced resolution. The film also benefits from a reference quality Atmos track (upgraded from the prior DTS-HD MA 7.1 track). That track absolutely delivers the goods. The special features are ported over from the Blu-ray and are fun and enjoyable. Fans of the film will want to upgrade to the 4K format, and first time purchasers should definitely purchase the 4K release. If the film’s description sounds like fun to you, I highly recommend checking it out. This is one of those films that is even better to watch with a group of likeminded friends.

The film can be purchased at www.moviezyng.com.