Cocaine Bear
Universal Pictures | Release Date: February 24, 2023 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
54
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 58 Critic Reviews
Positive:
26
Mixed:
22
Negative:
10
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
The Observer (UK)Mark KermodeFeb 26, 2023
Sporadically goofy fun, a scrappy carnival of ripped limbs, severed heads and spilled intestines, all softened by an only partly parodic family-centred Spielbergian sensibility. Read full review
60
Los Angeles TimesJustin ChangFeb 23, 2023
It’s hard to completely dismiss a mainstream horror-comedy that offers a nice supply of sharp and grisly, at least until it takes a disappointing turn for soft and cuddly. Read full review
60
SlashfilmChris EvangelistaFeb 23, 2023
I'm all for rampaging animal movies. I'm all for ultra-silliness. I'm all for lots of gore. But after a while, the repetitive nature of Cocaine Bear began to wear me down, and the humor started to fall flat. Read full review
60
NMEAlex FloodFeb 23, 2023
There’s already talk of a sequel, Cocaine Shark, and the cast have joked about getting jobs in the Cocaine Bear Cinematic Universe. So maybe it doesn’t really matter if Cocaine Bear is average, as long as it has both cocaine and bears in it. And we can most definitely confirm that it does. Read full review
60
We Got This CoveredAlejandra MartinezFeb 23, 2023
Cocaine Bear almost runs its premise into the ground, but delivers some outrageous rampage sequences and laughs along the way. Read full review
60
The Irish TimesDonald ClarkeFeb 23, 2023
The thing is fun but, if we may be allowed an oxymoron, it is genuinely ersatz from ear to claw. Read full review
60
The GuardianEllen E JonesFeb 23, 2023
Not since Snakes on a Plane has a movie promised so much, but despite a great cast the plot is too tame. Read full review
58
Entertainment WeeklyLeah GreenblattFeb 24, 2023
It's all patently ridiculous, and even at 95 minutes, a stretch to call this loose cannonball of high camp and sticky-bright gore a movie. Read full review
55
CNNBrian LowryFeb 23, 2023
Director Elizabeth Banks conjures bursts of absurdist energy and humor without delivering anything approaching a sustained rush. Read full review
50
ABC NewsPeter TraversFeb 24, 2023
A bear does cocaine and kills people. That’s it. Director Elizabeth Banks revels in deliciously cheap thrills, but then treats her overqualified actors (Keri Russell, the late Ray Liotta) like bear chewtoys while the overcrowded script drifts into hibernation. Read full review
50
Screen DailyTim GriersonFeb 23, 2023
Unlike its zonked-out predator, Banks’ film rarely feels similarly energised. Read full review
50
The PlaylistMarshall ShafferFeb 23, 2023
As it goes on, Cocaine Bear becomes far too sober an affair for its subject matter, where no amount of carnage can fully compensate for its lack of comedy. Read full review
50
The Seattle TimesSoren AndersenFeb 23, 2023
As a creature feature, Cocaine Bear isn’t bad. Not great, mind you. But not bad. Read full review
50
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzFeb 23, 2023
It’s stupid by design, but it’s not stupid enough. … It plays like an idea in search of a film. Desperately in search of, and never quite finding it. Read full review
50
Movie NationRoger MooreFeb 23, 2023
It isn’t quite “Snakes on a Plane,” a high concept comedy in which ALL of the fun is in the title and the billing. But it’s too close. Read full review
40
The New YorkerAnthony LaneFeb 27, 2023
Cocaine Bear has a peculiar jostling quality, as the various characters shuffle onto center stage and then get elbowed aside to make way for the next contender. Read full review
40
Time OutOlly RichardsFeb 24, 2023
It’s gory and mildly funny but its joke – that the bear is acting like a serial killer – is the only one the film has. It wears thin very quickly. Read full review
40
The AtlanticDavid SimsFeb 23, 2023
This project does not skimp on its main attraction, but it does seem unsure of what to put around it, throwing a variety of hapless characters in the mix and arming them mostly with indifferent comedy in the face of some truly gnarly violence. Read full review
40
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Radheyan SimonpillaiFeb 23, 2023
The movie, about a doped-up black bear, is a much more lethargic affair, as if the apex predator’s supply was swapped out for some Ativan. Read full review
40
BBCNicholas BarberFeb 23, 2023
It might be best to watch Cocaine Bear at home, where you can skip past the rambling sections and go straight to the laughs and screams. In the cinema, most viewers will wish that it was wittier, faster, and more willing to fulfil the gonzo potential of its in-your-face title. It's definitely better than Banks's last film, Charlie's Angels, but you can't help feeling that she has done the bear minimum. Read full review
40
Total FilmJamie GrahamFeb 23, 2023
Despite its 95-minute running time, Banks’ wild adventure feels drawn out. Never sure if it wants to conjure real suspense and scares (it fails) or embrace riotous comedy in a full-on bear hug, Cocaine Bear also suffers from moments of cartoonish CGI. Read full review
40
EmpireIan FreerFeb 23, 2023
It’s a great premise but, over-populated by dull characters and a flat feel, Cocaine Bear is sadly a party animal that never gets started. Not quite a coke zero but close. Read full review
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