2023’s First Great Movie? | COCAINE BEAR Review

From the get-go, Cocaine Bear is out to catch your attention.

Based off an ACTUAL THING THAT HAPPENED, the film loosely adapts this into an incredible horror comedy which may be one of 2023’s best.

Directed by Elizabeth Banks of…from a lot of movies fame, Cocaine Bear is a delightful, gory romp through the forests of Georgia, America. Starring Keri Russell, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Alden Ehrenreich and more, it follows a mother trying to find their child. Drug traffickers trying to find their drugs. And a bear who may have the child and has definitely ingested the drugs.

From the entertaining opener paying homage to past horrors, Cocaine Bear knows exactly what it is. A bold comedy which sticks to the weird while finding adventure in it. The cast play it up fantastically, with Margo Martindale‘s ‘Ranger Liz’ standing out amongst the star-studded cast. The bear itself is wonderfully animated, and provides all the gory kill scenes you’d want from a horror comedy. From torn off limbs to unnecessary amounts of blood, it is unrelenting. Which makes sense considering it’s hopped up on cocaine.

A brilliant conclusion which provides a stunning final act for the late Ray Liotta, Cocaine Bear doesn’t try to be anything else but a fun film. And it is! Which is why I throw something as spectacular as “2023’s first great film” at it. Because a fun film should hold that title. Especially one which sticks to its guns as impressively as Cocaine Bear.