Blue Beetle (2023)

​“Blue Beetle” stars Xolo Maridueña, Bruna Marquezine, Melissa Escobedo, George Lopez, Adriana Barraza, Elpidia Carrillo, Damián Alcázar, Raoul Trujillo, and Susan Sarandon. Released on August 18, 2023, the film has a teenager gaining superpowers from an alien scarab.

The film is directed by Ángel Manuel Soto, who also directed "La Granja" and "Charm City Kings". It is the fourteenth film in the DC Extended Universe. It's tough to ignore the issue Warner Brothers Discovery is still confronting regarding its DC brand. The studio hoped "The Flash" would help it get back on track regarding its early word-of-mouth. Unfortunately, that's not the case. With its mixed reviews and the controversy surrounding Ezra Miller still looming around, that film became one of the biggest box office disasters for Warner Brothers Discovery, signaling another massive wound for the already-concluding DC Extended Universe. At least the surprising success of "Barbie" helped the studio recoup the losses from the superhero blunder. Now that we left The Flash in the dust, we have yet another DCEU installment looking to conclude the summer movie season.

The DCEU is taking another crack at reintroducing its lesser-known superhero to newcomers and long-time comic book fans, similar to what it did with "The Suicide Squad". This time, it's the Blue Beetle, who gains powers from an alien scarab. There are several different iterations of the character through the comics, but for the sake of relatability and representation, this film is adapting the recent iteration in which a Latino teenager carries the mantle. Is it enough to get DC fans back in the theater? More importantly, is this latest superhero movie fun enough to deliver one last burst of summer blockbuster blast for modern audiences? Let's find out.

The story follows Jaime Reyes (Maridueña), a teenager who recently graduated from college. He returns to his hometown in Palmera City, where his family resides. Unfortunately, he struggles to find a good enough job to save his family's house. While searching for a job, Jaime runs into a young woman named Jenny Kord (Marquezine), who gives him a sandwich box containing a mysterious blue relic. He and his family eventually discover that the relic is an ancient alien biotechnological artifact called the Scarab, which can grant any user an indestructible exoskeleton armor. When the Scarab latches onto Jamie, he becomes a target of a nefarious businesswoman named Victoria Kord (Sarandon), who's hellbent on retrieving the Scarab for her own gain. Jaime must learn to cooperate with the Scarab to protect his family from Victoria's greedy desire. 

Blue Beetle is another DC superhero I don't have much experience with compared to the other heroes, like Superman and Batman. The only times I recognized the hero, mainly the Jaime Reyes version, were from the DC animated content, like "Batman: The Brave and the Bold" and "Young Justice". So you're not going to get any Blue Beetle trivia from me. Regardless, I was eager to watch it due to my appreciation toward DC for reintroducing its lesser-known characters via its film adaptations, whether they're good or not. Besides, we've seen so many Superman and Batman movies for years, so why not give the rookies a shot at the spotlight? Another reason is that the trailers made it akin to "Shazam", which was a refreshingly delightful family-friendly take on the superhero genre. So it makes sense that "Blue Beetle" was hoping to follow up on that movie's success regarding its tone amid its showcase of the Latino culture. After watching the film, I can say that they made the right call with this one.

"Blue Beetle" is another superhero movie with the narrative cliches we've seen before, especially the "origin" formula. However, like "Shazam", "Blue Beetle" showcases the amount of care and effort the filmmakers injected into the story instead of having it on autopilot. The result is another reinvigorating and entertaining take on the superhero genre that honors the titular character and the representation. Part of that is due to its themes. While it is fun to see a techno-powered hero beat up the bad guys, that's not the only reason I enjoyed the film. The other reason is how it portrays the messages through its culture, including purpose, imperialism, and, more importantly, family. "Family" is the plot's key element, as it centers on the Reyes family attempting to provide for themselves to save their home. Additionally, it represents the love and support this family shared, which gave them the strength to fight for what's right, especially Jaime. A bit cheesy, yes, but it's effective nonetheless.

Regarding the direction and screenplay, "Blue Beetle" makes the family aspect as delightful as the superhero elements and delivers plenty of heart in the character dynamics. Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer did a solid job with his screenplay, combining Latino roots and genre elements with humorous dialogue and heartfelt interactions. As for Ángel Manuel Soto, he managed to capitalize on the script to provide a seamless mixture of family drama and superhero action. Soto's previous effort, "Charm City Kings", was a testament to his directorial talent regarding his passion for humane storytelling. For "Blue Beetle", Soto proves himself as the voice of the community he represents, but at the same time, he understands the reason behind a superhero movie's success. It's not just about the CGI spectacle in the fight scenes and world-saving plots. It's also about the human side of the genre, mainly Jaime's growth and the family he's with. Soto also did very well directing the film's action sequences, which were unsurprisingly fun and suitably choreographed. There were a few occasions where the action was periodically unfocused, but thankfully, they're not enough to make them unwatchable. This was my second experience with Soto's vision following "Charm City Kings", and I'm already intrigued about what he'll do next.

The family dynamic is one of the best things about "Blue Beetle", thanks to its main cast. The actors portraying the Reyes family deliver an outstanding chemistry that's impossible to resist, with the highlights being Xolo Maridueña and George Lopez. Maridueña made a big name for himself due to his performance as Miguel Diaz in "Cobra Kai", and he's now testing his talents on the big screen as the DC superhero. Like how I feel about him in "Cobra Kai", I thought Maridueña did a fantastic job providing charm and humanity to Jaime. He carries the movie through his sense of humor but never loses sight of the sincerity that made Jaime a solid iteration of the titular superhero. George Lopez as Rudy, Jaime's uncle, was one of the moments when I didn't expect someone to be that hilarious until after watching their performance. Sure, he's a bit too over-the-top on some occasions, but he never comes across as annoying to me. Lopez has plenty of energy in his comedy, but like Maridueña, he also doesn't stray away from the heartfelt drama, especially during the one scene involving Rudy and Jaime.

Damián Alcázar was also good as Alberto Reyes, Jaime's father, and Belissa Escobedo was a delight as Jaime's younger sister Milagro. However, Adriana Barraza managed to outshine the family with her performance as Nana, especially in the film's third act. You'll know what I mean when you watch the movie yourself. Susan Sarandon as Victoria Kord is what I would call another definition of a classic diabolical villain. She's downright despicable and only cares about improving the company through power and proving herself worthy instead of everyone else, including her niece Jenny. That's enough for me to applaud Sarandon for effectively portraying this character. Raoul Max Trujillo did pretty well as Conrad Carapax, Victoria's bodyguard with a tragic past.

But what about the visual effects, you ask? Long story short, they're better than the CGI fest that was "The Flash". A few VFX shots looked slightly off during a couple of scenes, but everything else was immensely dazzling, especially the film's setting, Palmera City. If the Latino suburbs aren't enough to convince you, you should see what the visuals deliver for the city. Palmera City looks like a neon futuristic world regarding the buildings but still retains the modernity of everything else. The CGI also worked well for the Blue Beetle's abilities, including his swords and blasters, and kudos to the production team for adding practical effects to the mix, including the Blue Beetle suit. It shows that they still don't want to repeat the "Green Lantern" incident with Ryan Reynolds's CGI suit.

Overall, "Blue Beetle" is a family-oriented superhero experience that revitalizes the origin story formula with its charm, representation, and heart. Its narrative has plenty of familiar elements that are impossible to ignore. However, the film effectively uses them to deliver a classic family story that's in sync with a highly enjoyable and heartfelt traditional superhero blockbuster. The cast was great, especially Maridueña and Lopez, Soto's direction was stellar regarding the family dynamic and action scenes, the screenplay was well-written, and the visual effects were dazzling. I would even say it's in the same league as 2017's "Wonder Woman" and "Shazam", although it is uncertain whether it beats them out as my favorite DCEU installment. We shall see when the "Aquaman" sequel splashes into theaters to close out the flawed DC Extended Universe soon.

B+