REVIEW! - 'BLUE BEETLE' (2023)

'Blue Beetle' (2023)

The reason that this review of “Blue Beetle” is coming so late after the movie’s release is due to the fact that I wasn’t originally going to see it in theaters. Not only am I suffering from superhero fatigue to a certain degree these days, I’m not really interested in films from DC due to how hit-or-miss their films have been in the past. Then, National Cinema Day came around and I figured that for a $4 ticket, this movie would be worth my time.

Then, I was surprised by just how much I enjoyed this movie! DC, why couldn’t you have been making films like this from the beginning!? “Blue Beetle” is an entertaining, action-packed, humorous movie that also happens to have a lot of heart.

The movie tells the story of Jaime Reyes (Xolo Maridueña), a young man who has just graduated college and has returned home to find that his parents are about to lose their house. He gets a low paying job in order to try and make things right, but after a run in with Jenny Kord (Bruna Marquezine) from Kord Industries, he is given the mysterious and alien Scarab. The device quickly merges with Jaime and the Blue Beetle is born!

Now, Jaime must figure out how to harness the power before Jenny’s evil aunt Victoria (Susan Sarandon can get to him first. She wants the Scarab to power her new OMAC suits at Kord Industries. Jaime must figure out a way to keep his family protected as well once they get into Victoria’s crosshairs.

Xolo Maridueña stars as Jaime Reyes, a.k.a. the Blue Beetle!

Okay, so first thing’s first just to get it out of the way. The movie does NOT break the superhero formula and it even takes more than a few narrative cues from 2015’s “Ant-Man”. Both have characters that once utilized their superhero mantles, a love interest that has a lost parent, and a villain that wants to acquire the superhero’s tech in order to make lots of money. However, the movie utilizes the tried-and-true superhero formula to great effect.

First, it has plenty of action scenes that are fun to watch. With the Blue Beetle suit, Jaime can fly and he can manipulate it to make anything he wants from swords and shields to non-lethal weapons. That is, if he can ever learn to properly communicate with the Scarab in order to control said power.

The second thing this film has going for it is that it has a great sense of humor. More often than not, the jokes land and they usually revolve around Jaime and his family’s reaction to the Blue Beetle powers. I even enjoyed George Lopez as Jaime’s uncle Rudy and that’s saying something as Lopez has never exactly been one of my favorite actors or comedians.

What was surprising about the movie is how much heart the movie has. The DC films have usually ranged from bitchy and moody to downright dumb in the emotional department. Watching how much Jaime cares about his family and the few emotional moments that arrive in the movie’s second half, I’m a little angry that DC wasn’t making more movies like this earlier in the franchise’s history.

At the end of the day, I almost avoided this movie due to DC’s track record. I’m thankful that I ended up watching the movie on the big screen. It is a fun-filled movie that shows DC Films is capable of making fun superhero films. I’m just sad it came so late in the game during a time where most audience members may have already lost interest in the DC film franchise.

'Blue Beetle' is a fun and worthy ride that may be
a little too late for most people to care.