Written by Ruby Fitzer and translated by Iestyn Knox
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WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!
When I went to see Cocaine Bear at the Commodore Cinema, I expected to see a bear doing cocaine, and that is certainly what I saw. What I didn’t expect though, was for this film to be so fun, thrilling, and, at times, emotional. The film opens with some brief facts about bears sourced from Wikipedia and then proceeds to say “based on true events”. While this may be true, it is a very loosely based version of the story. The real Andrew C. Thornton II did drop massive amounts of cocaine out of a plane in 1985, and he did die after jumping out of said plane. A bear did ingest at least some of the 34 kilograms of cocaine that were scattered through the forests of the Chattahoochee National Recreation Area in Georgia and unfortunately, although understandably, died.
The death of the bear is just one of the many ways in which the movie strays from the “true” in the opening statement, however, I do not think that this is to its detriment. The film takes a freak accident and creates an incredibly exciting story to surround it. Using relatable and fun characters, themes of family and friendship, and a lot of cocaine, to deliver far more than what audiences may expect. Part of what made this film so spectacular was its star-studded cast. O’Shea Jackson Jr. (Straight Outta Compton), Alden Ehrenreich (Solo: A Star Wars Story), and Ray Liotta, who is mostly known for his role in Goodfellas, play a trio of drug dealers who were associated with the cocaine dropped from the plane. They have fantastic chemistry with each other on screen and a scene between Jackson (Jr.?) and Ehrenreich almost moved me to tears. Another household name that appeared quite suddenly was character actor Margo Martindale, who played a flirtatious, assertive, and gun-crazy park ranger. Golden Globe winner Keri Russell also played a classic eighties mom complete with a full pink jumpsuit.
One thing about this film that I wasn’t crazy about was the level of gore. It's relatively easy to know if a character has been killed by the cocaine bear, the squirting blood and dismembered body parts thrown around on screen felt like a bit much to me. My stomach was turning at the sight of Ray Liotta’s intestines being consumed by the cocaine bear and her cocaine cubs. However, that is complete personal preference and considering that this is a film called Cocaine Bear, some gruesome scenes are to be expected. The extreme violence in the film was surprisingly well balanced with comedic moments with both the bear and the other characters. Even moments that could’ve easily become too intense were balanced with the out-there personalities and responses from the characters in the scene. It gave the audience a moment to breathe, and laugh, in what was sometimes a very gruesome film.
Overall Cocaine Bear delivered exactly what I expected it to and more. It was an extremely fun film to watch and despite being a bit squeamish at parts I thoroughly enjoyed it. I would highly recommend this film to anyone who enjoys a good action-comedy and a bit of a bizarre story.
Adolygiad o Cocaine Bear cyf. Elizabeth Banks
RHUBYDD: MANYLION PLOT YMLAEN!
Pan es i weld Cocaine Bear yn Sinema’r Commodore y penwythnos yma, roeddwn i’n disgwyl gweld arth yn gwneud cocên, ac yn sicr dyna a welais. Ond yr hyn nad oeddwn i'n ei ddisgwyl oedd i'r ffilm hon fod mor hwyliog, gwefreiddiol, ac, ar adegau, yn emosiynol. Mae'r ffilm yn agor gyda rhai ffeithiau byr am eirth a gafwyd o Wikipedia cyn mynd ymlaen i ddadlennu bod y plot "yn seiliedig ar ddigwyddiadau gwir". Er fod yn wir yn dechnegol, mae'n fersiwn llac iawn o'r stori. Gollyngodd y Andrew C. Thornton II go iawn symiau enfawr o gocên allan o awyren ym 1985, a bu farw ar ôl neidio allan o'r awyren honno. Amlyncodd arth o leiaf rai o'r 34 cilogram o gocên a wasgarwyd trwy goedwigoedd Ardal Hamdden Genedlaethol Chattahoochee yn Georgia ac yn anffodus, er yn ddealladwy, bu farw.
Un yn unig o’r nifer o ffyrdd y mae’r ffilm yn crwydro oddi wrth y “gwir” yn y datganiad agoriadol yw marwolaeth yr arth, er ni chredaf fod hyn yn niweidiol iddo. Mae'r ffilm yn cymryd damwain ar hap ac yn creu stori hynod gyffrous i'w hamgylchynu. Gan ddefnyddio cymeriadau deniadol a hwyl, themâu o teulu a chyfeillgarwch, a llawer o gocên, i gyflawni llawer mwy na'r hyn y gall cynulleidfaoedd ei ddisgwyl. Rhan o'r hyn a wnaeth y ffilm hon mor ysblennydd oedd ei chast llawn sêr. Mae O'Shea Jackson Jr (Straight Outta Compton), Alden Ehrenreich (Solo: A Star Wars Story), a Ray Liotta, sy'n adnabyddus yn bennaf am ei rôl yn Goodfellas, yn chwarae triawd o werthwyr cyffuriau a oedd yn gysylltiedig â'r cocên a ollyngwyd. Mae’r tair yn cydweithio’n ffantastig gyda’i gilydd ar y sgrin a bu bron i olygfa rhwng Jackson Jr. ac Ehrenreich fy symud i ddagrau. Enw cyfarwydd arall a ymddangosodd yn eithaf sydyn oedd yr actor cymeriad Margo Martindale, a chwaraeodd ceidwad parc fflyrtaidd, pendant a gwallgof. Chwaraeodd enillydd Golden Globe Keri Russell hefyd fam glasurol o'r wythdegau ynghyd â ‘jumpsuit’ pinc llawn.
Un peth am y ffilm hon nad oeddwn yn wallgof yn ei gylch oedd lefel yr erchylltra. Mae'n gymharol hawdd gwybod os yw cymeriad wedi'i ladd gan yr arth cocên, roedd y gwaed yn chwistrellu a'r rhannau o'r corff wedi'u datgymalu a daflwyd o gwmpas ar y sgrin yn teimlo braidd yn ormod i mi. Roedd fy stumog yn troi wrth weld coluddion Ray Liotta yn cael ei fwyta gan yr arth cocên a’i cenawon cocên. Fodd bynnag, dyna fy hoffter personol i, ac o ystyried mai ffilm o’r enw Cocaine Bear yw hon, mae rhai golygfeydd erchyll i’w disgwyl. Roedd y trais eithafol yn y ffilm wedi'i gydbwyso'n rhyfeddol o dda gydag eiliadau comediaidd gyda'r arth a'r cymeriadau eraill. Cafodd hyd yn oed eiliadau a allai yn hawdd wedi mynd yn rhy angerddol eu cydbwyso â phersonoliaethau ac ymatebion y cymeriadau yn yr olygfa. Rhoddodd eiliad i’r gynulleidfa anadlu, a chwerthin, mewn ffilm a oedd weithiau’n erchyll iawn.
Yn gyffredinol, cyflwynodd Cocaine Bear yn union yr hyn yr oeddwn yn ei ddisgwyl a mwy. Roedd yn ffilm hynod o hwyliog i'w gwylio ac er fy mod braidd yn ddicra mewn rhannau mwynheais yn fawr. Byddwn yn argymell y ffilm hon yn fawr i unrhyw un sy'n mwynhau comedi-actol dda a dipyn o stori ryfedd.