Cocaine Wars Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		3.5
Audio		3.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

Cocaine Wars Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf February 25, 2017

1985’s “Cocaine Wars” falls somewhere between an Oliver Stone-style study of international distress and a brawny Chuck Norris actioner, never quite showing comfort with either extreme. It’s a Roger Corman production that attempts to turn star John Schneider into a big screen bad ass, gifting the “Dukes of Hazzard” star a beret, sassy comebacks, and guns to raise hell in South America. “Cocaine Wars” attempts to tap into zeitgeist of the era with its story of drug shipments, cartel kings, and volatile political gamesmanship, but it’s really just a blow-em-up experience at heart.

Schneider portrays an undercover DEA agent trying to infiltrate a drug exporter’s organization during a politically turbulent time. It’s an easy lay-up performance for most actors, and Schneider instills enough mischief into the character to make him interesting, often portrayed in cocky interactions with dim-wit locals, making America proud with his sense of superiority. Director Hector Olivera does a workmanlike job with “Cocaine Wars,” keeping Schneider front and center while arranging various car chases and mild brawling, also showing a love for explosives, especially the implausible kind, giving the movie some boomy highlights.

Cocaine Wars Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.78:1 aspect ratio) presentation does a fine job bringing the low-budget craftsmanship of "Cocaine Wars" to Blu-ray, servicing the adequate cinematography and its limited visual reach. Wear and tear is noticeable throughout, with thick, green emulsion scratches emerging in the feature's second half, while mild judder and speckling are also detected. Detail is generally acceptable, picking up the particulars of sweaty faces and costuming, while compound and city distances are preserved. Colors are encouraging, showcasing stable skintones and flavorful greenery. Filmic presence remains. Delineation is communicative.

Cocaine Wars Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix works well with basics of the "Cocaine Wars" listening experience, which isn't built to wow. Dialogue exchanges are stable, blending dubbed voices with production audio. While intelligibility isn't threatened, a few brief synch issues pop up, along with the odd audio dropout. Scoring retains synth chirp and presence, supporting the action comfortably. Atmospherics are agreeable, capturing compound movement, bar interiors, and street gatherings.

Cocaine Wars Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• "Katarina's Drive-In Theater" (4:57, HD) returns host Katarina Leigh Waters to comedy skits and IMDB trivia, even walking though almost the entire plot of "Cocaine Wars" for reasons not entirely understood, as this tedious supplement is meant to act as an introduction to the film.

• And a Trailer (1:24, SD) is included.

Cocaine Wars Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"Cocaine Wars" isn't polished, lurching from moment to moment to hit all the essentials of B-movie construction, including an awkward sex scene where Schneider paws his visibly bored co-star, Kathryn Witt. There's a grand finale that pits heroes against villains, sustaining formula while hoping to wow viewers with larger scale violence after bits of hostility scattered throughout the rest of the effort fail to ignite. "Cocaine Wars" is hardly credible, but it does offer the image of Schneider in warrior mode, which is a nice change of pace for the normally vanilla actor.