Film time—Cocaine Bear (2023)… yikes

This was simply a complete waste of a brilliant idea.

Cocaine Bear takes a bizarre piece of actual history and reduces it to its lowest common denominator, turning a fascinating real-life event into a braindead spectacle. Inspired by the story of a black bear that ingested cocaine dropped from a drug smuggler’s aeroplane in 1985, the film twists this peculiar incident into an over-the-top bloodbath with some shockingly sub-par GCI. I'm convinced the pitch meeting for funding this monstrosity must have been entirely focused on this becoming a viral meme. The film is the very epitome of cheap thrills and implausible narrative that sees the bear going on a rampage. I can't really say this any more simply: this was totally effing stupid.

In reality—according this national geographic article about the incident—the bear's life ended tragically, succumbing to the drugs shortly after consumption. The fact the film makers didn't capture an iota of intrigue of the true story reflects broader issues with the film and modern filmmaking as a whole. The real story of the Cocaine Bear speaks to the dangers of human negligence, and the devastating reach of the drug trade, yet the movie treats its subject with a level of flippancy that borders on disrespect. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for silly and fun—in what was always probably aimed as a "B-movie"—but this was just bad; my expectations were set low going in and I still ended up disappointed. It somehow didn't even fall into the "it's so bad it's good" camp for me.

By focusing on cartoonish gore and overblown violence, the film fails to capture the inherent tragedy of its premise, instead opting to commodify a unique story for fleeting viral attention. It’s a stark contrast to films like The Revenant. Instead, Cocaine Bear epitomises cinema’s descent into shallow spectacle, leaving audiences with little more than a hollow, digital caricature of a story that deserved better.

2/10