Sunday 19 March 2023

Movie review: Cocaine Bear (2023)



[Post published by Liviu, on Liviu's [Personal] Blog]

Nota bene: for other movie reviews, click for the dedicated page with movie reviews.


Cocaine Bear (2023)

[IMDB; en.wikipedia]



Comedy + Horror = excellent combination
Nota bene: I had the impression - given the trailer etc. - that I was going to watch a comedy… However, while watching the movie I learned it was a Horror movie, too… Very refreshing I'd say :)


I must admit that when I’ve chosen to watch it I had low expectations.
I can say for sure the movie delivers more than expected.
Many comments & reviews I've read are so wrong!


The Cocaine Bear - essentially the villain, yet a cute CGI villain if you ask me :) - enters the scene precisely at the right time every time in order to keep the action/movie going - excellent timing and/or planning, I can say that for sure!

However, I wish they had written more scenes for/with the Bear.
It feels there are kind of too few scenes starring the CGI Cocaine Bear, therefore the movie feels cheap - they should have invested a bit more in the special effects / CGI with respect to the whole Bear "ecosystem" :)

In particular, I wish they had written some truly funny scenes with the Bear, too as opposed to the horror ones which predominate in the movie.


Good story/storyline, everything intertwines nicely.
Smart.
Fast paced. The movie never drags.


Good acting.
All actors perform really well.


Good editing.
They cut it perfectly. They keep it short. They only keep the relevant content.
Congratulations to whoever has had the courage & skill to cut that well!


Entertaining.
You cannot possibly get bored given the Good story/storyline and Good editing.


Sound - average.
More work on the foley sounds, please!


Soundtrack - I think it’s missing :) I don't remember anything worth remembering :)


Some may consider there's too much gore, but frankly it's not that much and it's bearable :)
Handling/Depiction of violence resembles Tarantino's style.


I recommend the cinema experience, since you get the full feeling, you get all the fun & all the horror, you know :)
TV might be ok, too.


If only they had invested a bit more into delivering more Cocaine Bear screen time...
If only they had more of the Hollywood magic & infrastructure at their disposal...
If only they had some A-list actors/celebrities/stars (or at least B-list or very bankable people)...
If only they had a bigger budget...
...it would have ended up as a classic/masterpiece and a box-office hit!

They did the best given the resources put at their disposal. Congratulations for that!


Conclusions


To sum up, I totally loved it.
Worth watching.
I recommend it.
I’d say I witnessed some quality magic being delivered despite a rather low budget.