DC have delivered some good superhero blockbusters of late, with ‘The Flash’ proving that if you have a good emotional core to your story, the fans will champion your cause. ‘Blue Beetle’ may not be a household name, but the beloved hero has finally gotten his big screen debut, and with it delivers a fun family adventure with lots of action and adventure.
The plot finds Jaime Reyes (Xolo Maridueña) returning home from college to find that his family have been struggling to make ends meet. With the family business lost and mounting debts, he gets offered a job offer working for tech billionaire Jenny Kord (Bruna Marquezine). Jenny hurriedly asks Jaime to hide a mysterious object for her when he turns up for his job interview. With people seemingly chasing her for this, Jaime takes it home. The object is a mysterious alien scarab that chooses Jaime as its symbiotic host, latching onto his back and turning him into an armour-shielded superhero named ‘Blue Beetle’. With Jenny Kord’s nefarious aunt Victoria (Susan Sarandon) frantically hunting for this stolen tech, Jaime and Jenny are on the run to protect it from falling into the wrong hands.
To be the first Latino superhero in a major DC film is a big deal, and Xolo Maridueña absolutely embodies this hero perfectly. The ‘Cobra Kai’ star has really commanded every project he’s been in, and his selection as the head of this new superhero blockbuster franchise should be commended. Xolo Maridueña has an unmistakable, relatable charm that makes him box office gold. He was the perfect lead to launch ‘Cobra Kai’ and now ‘Blue Beetle’ utilises his natural charisma to good effect on the big screen as Jaime Reyes.
The rest of the supporting cast are decent, with a few exceptions. George Lopez is as excellent as you’d imagine and steals every one of his scenes as the hilarious Uncle Rudy. Damián Alcázar, Adriana Barraza, Belissa Escobedo and Elpidia Carrillo are all brilliant as Jaime’s father, grandmother, sister and mother respectively. The family dynamic of ‘Blue Beetle’ is its saving grace. It absolutely works on every level at the start, and more importantly, it portrays a Latino community that isn’t full of cliches. ‘Blue Beetle’ is fused with Latino culture in all the best ways, and it was great to see this onscreen.
Sadly, Susan Sarandon was an awful, pantomime villain here with zero nuance or depth. She chews up her scenes as Victoria Kord and will sadly be remembered as one of the worst DC characters of all time. She, and the movie, deserved much better material to work with. Harvey Guillén has proven with his work on ‘What We Do In The Shadows’ that he is a great talent, but he’s utterly wasted here. Raoul Max Trujillo does really well as Carapax, despite the film frequently missing key moments to really promote the character and his interesting backstory. Bruna Marquezine was quite forgettable as Jenny Kord.
The film starts off so well, with Xolo Maridueña leading the line with an assured, but light touch that fits the dynamic of the opening narrative set-up perfectly. The family life of Jaime Reyes is also perfectly laid out for fans to fully get behind the characters and give the film a genuine sense of heart and soul. Then after he first turns into ‘Blue Beetle’ for the first time, the film seems to rely far too much on CGI set-pieces and frantically shot action scenes that are devoid of real purpose, and at times just look like Power Rangers outtakes. It’s such a shame, because the film has all of the elements needed to have made a very strong story, but I didn’t like certain choices in the movie. I can’t go into more detail because they are spoiler-filled, but it’s frustrating to see ‘Blue Beetle’ rely a bit too heavily on soulless CGI action when there was a far stronger emotional connection to be harnessed here.
For all of its faults, ‘Blue Beetle’ is still an enjoyable ride, and a sequel may fare better if they make some necessary adjustments. It might be coming at the wrong time though, as the new head of the DC Universe James Gunn looks to be rebooting the whole movie slate. It remains to be seen how ‘Blue Beetle’ sits in his new vision for the future of the brand, but there are enough avenues left open at the end of this film that could potentially place the character in this new movie universe. For now, ‘Blue Beetle’ comes in as an enjoyable but familiar summer blockbuster, but one that doesn’t aim very high.
Cast: Xolo Maridueña, George Lopez, Damián Alcázar, Adriana Barraza, Belissa Escobedo, Elpidia Carrillo, Susan Sarandon, Harvey Guillén, Raoul Max Trujillo, Bruna Marquezine, Becky G Director: Angel Manuel Soto Writer: Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer Certificate: 12A Duration: 127 mins Released by: Warner Bros Release date: 18th August 2023
