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2023: Theatrically released by Warner Brothers on August 18.
Directed by Angel Manuel Soto; Written by Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer, from the DC Comics character
Starring Xolo Mariduena, Bruna Marquezine, George Lopez, Susan Sarandon, Harvey Guillen
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Blue Beetle is the third DC Extended Universe film to be released this year, and the 14th overall. Neither established character starring The Flash and Shazam: Fury of the Gods were all that great (with Flash edging out Shazam). It’s a shame for Blue Beetle to be released after both failed commercially as well, as this is easily the best of the bunch. It’s also a shame the first cinematic outing of the hero, first introduced in 1939 with a different character in the suit, is released just before a well-publicized reset of the cinematic universe (now under The Suicide Squad’s James Gunn’s guiding hand). It could easily be the starter film of the next arm of the franchise, but it may be regulated to a footnote at the end of the 2013-started series instead. I don’t recall any direct reference, but I had to step out for a minute and may have missed but I’m sure it could have been cut without any issue.
On the surface, everything about the Angel Manual Soto (Charm City Kings) directed film is a very generic superhero-origin movie. The script by Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer (Miss Bala) follows the expected story beats to a T. There are zero surprises in the overall flow of the picture. It cribs from movies we’ve seen before – mostly a mix of Iron Man, Venom, and Spider-Man. Fingerprints of the genre are all over, building a familiar feel.
But don’t count it out.
Blue Beetle is very entertaining outside the boilerplate elements. Heck, succumbing to the standard (there’s a sly awareness to this aspect, not winky and direct like Spider-Verse, but it’s there) allows the other elements to breathe and make a watch worthwhile.
An effortlessly charming and likable Xolo Mariduena plays Jaime Reyes (introduced as the third Blue Beetle in comics in 2006) is freshly graduated from Gotham Law, returning to his Mexican-American family in Palerama City, Texas (Texas is a surprise when I looked it up – felt like a Miami analog) to find his family at a nadir – conglomerate Kord Industries (run by villain Susan Sarandon, clearly enjoying chewing scenery) is razing their neighborhood and pushing out everyone who isn’t super-rich. A meeting with not-evil Kord Jenny (Bruna Marquezine) sets him up with the alien symbiote Khaji-Da (voice of Becky F) via some unexpected body horror that made me happy – especially to see it in a family film. Standard beats follow. But it’s the flesh on the familiar bones that work.
I loved the family dynamic. The actors have the easy flow and connection of a real family. Their charm, charisma, and chemistry go a long while (and does lead to a notable and wonderful inversion of the above boilerplate). George Lopez steals scenes as the excitable conspiracy theory electronic whiz uncle. A sort of character that could be very grating with the wrong actor, but he plays it just right to mine the most. Nana (who will also be an audience favorite), parents, and wise-cracking (but not overly so) sister; all get their moments. They earn the audience’s sympathy and I found myself really caring for them. It’s also nice to so heavily feature Latino characters as our heroes. Whoo hoo more diversity!
The cackling comic-evil Sarandon plays well off the gruff, nearly silent similar powers to hero right-hand man Raoul Max Trujillo. She also has What We Do in the Shadow’s Harvey Guillen on hand, but he’s not really utilized well.
I appreciated how grounded it was to these people, good and bad alike, and how this affects them. No world-threatening external force, some bad other. Keeping small sells the film. The fights are generally one-on-one (with a handful of faceless goons, because we need someone we don’t care about to get blasted in fun and interesting manners). With the family and all being so darn likable and important to the plot, the audience stays connected and invested, helping the energy to build life into the proceedings.
In staying insular, it might survive the DCEU dump. As noted, it’s unattached to the rest of the series – no dumb cameos by Gal Gidot in front of a bad greenscreen or shoved in references so this hero can be part of the old DCEU or part of the new version with no issues.
Blue Beetle is a familiar, but fun superhero origin movie. It’s solid but not spectacular. Nothing is reinvented but that doesn’t mean there isn’t much to love. Go, and enjoy.
B-
PS I really dug The Haxan Cloak (aka Bobby Krlic)’s Tangerine Dream-esque score.
