Blue Beetle

There’s no way to address this better than the San Andreas clip with CJ saying “Here we go again” because DC always have us put up high expectations then shoot us right down… however today they showed promise and gave the Latino community time to shine!

Based on the DC Comics character, an alien scarab chooses college graduate Jaime Reyes to be its symbiotic host, bestowing the teenager with a suit of armour that’s capable of extraordinary and unpredictable powers, forever changing his destiny as he becomes the superhero known as Blue Beetle.

Newcomer Xolo Mariduena carries the titular mantle of Jaime Reyes aka Blue Beetle. He no doubt looks the part but performance wise he was very meedi. Very passive, cheesy and corny. Unsure if he did his own stunts but his performances in the suit were decent. Bruna Marquezine was the damsel in distress and again it was a meedi experience. Having auditioned for Supergirl I feel she has the look for it but her acting will need some work. Becky G I can’t have an opinion on as she had maybe 11 lines. Jumped in the booth and did her job, I guess. Susan Sarandon is the movies sub villain and she was ok. Referring to her Cruella Deville role was cute. Damian Alcazar, Adrianna Barazza, Belissa Escobedo and Elpidia Carrillo play the Reyes family. They provide a lot of the cultural references and are the heart of the movie with decent performances from each of them. George Lopez is the standout performer. His experience shown in being the tech guy, crazy uncle and humongous source of comedic value. He was brilliant. Overall bar a few people a lot of the cast felt quite passive. Just felt like they were coasting through from scene to scene. They were bearable.

I would call this a mid-tier production level. Something that can’t compete with the big blockbusters but can survive on a streaming service, which actually makes sense because this film was created with the intention to be released on Max. The decision to create his own city instead of sticking to the comics was interesting. Perhaps placing him on a similar leading level like Superman with his made-up Metropolis. The pacing feels rushed. Our hero is stalked through the film by some super soldier and we don’t learn why or anything, they just shoe horn a quick back story in the last 30 seconds of the climactic battle, not very good. The CGI is tolerable and you will be able to manage it through. It’s not terrible at all, there’s just bigger spectacles out there to see. There’s a lot of practical action which was really good to see and well performed. We are in the age where everything is computer generated but it seems they got down and dirty a bit. The Latino soundtrack is present but not fitting. Didn’t contribute in hyping up enough scenes to give it that extra feeling.

The highlight of this film is its heart.

To do that they made the whole family central to the movie which then made Jaime not feel so much like a main character despite having the suit. There were some big characters that happen to over shadow him. Nana Reyes was hilarious and the MVP alongside Rudy Reyes. So, it added and took away from the film, if that makes sense. I got a bit teary eyed I can admit. The mix of English and Spanish really drove the authenticity of the emotional scenes. They were centred around grief, loss and pain. They were few and they were impactful. Throwing some throw backs in to compliment the past Blue Beetles was pretty cool too.

All in all, I’m not mad at it. it’s not the best DC movie but it’s a step in the right direction. Where it falls short is it brought nothing new to the genre. It’s very generic and typical. Zero surprises, plot twists and connections to the wider DCEU. I guess the future will tell. It’s an ok movie worth a watch definitely but will be on streaming services fairly soon I’ll say.

Do you like how James Gunn DCEU has started? Were you happy with the villain choice? Did you shed a tear? Were the Latino community represented properly? React and comment below….