As the superhero genre continues its highs and lows across all platforms of media, it becomes increasingly more difficult to be unique. I’m not ready to commit to the whole “Marvel Studios is cooked” narrative, nor am I able to say that the genre as a whole has lost all of its steam. I am however, willing to admit that many of the recent outings have been lackluster, middling and sometimes downright awful, making harder and harder to feel the need to see the latest offering even if said film seems like it has a lot of promise.
That brings us to “Blue Beetle,” an amalgamation of every superhero origin story you’ve ever seen. You’d be right to dismiss this one out of hand. WB has had a terrible track record lately, and even worse in their DC universes. And let’s not forget the baffling all in bet on “The Flash,” which will go down in the books as one of the worst double downs in film history. Those highly critical are right; it offers nothing you haven’t seen a million times before in a million other superhero movies. But to quote the late great Roger Ebert, “It’s not what a movie is about, it’s how it goes about it.”
On that front, “Blue Beetle” shines. What it lacks in originality it makes up for with a charming lead in Xolo Maridueña (“Cobra Kai“) a ton of heart of humor, and a celebration of Latin heritage akin to “Black Panther,” and is sure to spark that same sense of representation that will resonate with audiences. It may not be anything new, but it is certainly a step in the right direction for DC, and once again highlights the huge bag fumbling of “The Flash” push when they had THIS in the works the whole time. “Blue Beetle” isn’t held back by its formulaic plot and strange tonal shifts, but largely by the studio that chose to not promote it in a culturally relevant way to create a genuine groundswell of interest from its target audience. WB seems to have 0 interest in the potential audience reach, and the film and foolish box office shaming suffer for it dearly.
Side note on that point while we’re here (I promise we’ll get to the actual film in a minute), but can we please let films have more than 3 days in the theater before we start calling time of death? Did we all forget that just three short years ago we had a global plague that quite literally reshaped the way the world consumes media, and box office numbers aren’t the same barometer of success as they were before that, and that not every film needs to make a billion dollars in their first screening to be considered a success? For the love of god, can we just let films like “Blue Beetle” cook for a little bit and see what happens when people ACTUALLY get to watch it? And remember that not everyone rushes to the theater anymore (ya know, plague and whatnot) and most films need longer now because most people NEED longer to decide if they’re even going to go to a theater? Ok, end rant.
Directed by Angel Manuel Soto from a script by Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer, “Blue Beetle” is the latest film from DC, and it said to be the first film in the DCU under the new James Gunn helm (though made prior to his takeover). “Blue Beetle” follows Jaime Reyes (Maridueña) who suddenly finds himself in possession of an ancient relic of alien biotechnology called the Scarab. When the Scarab chooses Jaime to be its symbiotic host, he’s bestowed with an incredible suit of armor that’s capable of extraordinary and unpredictable powers, forever changing his destiny as he becomes the superhero Blue Beetle. Of course, the evil corporation Kord lead by Victoria Kord (Susan Sarandon) wants the Scarab for themselves to create an army of super soldiers and become a global superpower. The film also stars George Lopez, Adriana Barraza, Damián Alcázar, Bruna Marquezine, Raoul Trujillo, Belissa Escobedo, and Becky G as the voice of the scarab named Khaji-Da.
If the plot synopsis of “Blue Beetle” sounds like plenty of superhero films you’ve seen before, well you’re right. The film plays it completely safe, sticking to formula almost to a fault. If you’ve seen any of the films that come to mind when you read the plot, you’ve kind of already seen it. And it commits a lot of the same mistakes, too. The most egregious of which is the villain problem, where the big bad has the exact same powers as the hero, with a final battle that feels like a shot for shot remake of the first “Iron Man.” All the cliches and tropes are there, and most of this feels like a check the box of superhero origin stories. It also has some real strange editing choices that make the tonal shifts feel drastic and imbalanced. Dunnet-Alcocer’s script is as bland as its tropes, unable to really imbue any of the characters (particularly Sarandon and Marquezine who are given crumbs and asked to make full bread loafs) with legitimate purpose or meaningful motivations. On paper, it’s hard to get excited because you’ve seen it so many times before, sometimes better and sometimes worse.
But when we go back to Ebert’s words, this film manages to overcome all of these shortcomings to deliver a heartfelt, fun, and celebratory adventure that becomes better than the sum of its parts. This is largely due to Soto’s vision of putting family at the core, which becomes the driving force of everything and are as much heroes as Blue Beetle himself. It is also the work of Maridueña, who is just electric and charming and so easy to root for every step of the way. Soto’s choice to seep latin culture into every facet (taking cultural lessons from “Black Panther“) help the film to soar high above its misgivings and predictable narrative. Paired with Maridueña’s performance and the inclusion of his family as both his strength and support system, “Blue Beetle” is powered by more than just the suit or the magic of alien tech. It’s enough family to make Dominic Toretto proud, and it is here where the film really finds its footing and way into our hearts as good time at the movies.
There’s a joyous energy- the kind of entrancing escapism that tosses all skepticism out the window and takes you along for a fun ride worth taking. It’s not even the best of its kind, and truthfully would feel right at home 15 years ago in the early days of superhero films. But what it wants to say it says boldly and purposefully, and the importance of family and culture and survival and strength in and from those that love us all speak louder than the predicable narrative. This film doesn’t need to revolutionize the superhero genre to mean something, and it wears its cultural heritage and familial experiences with honor. It is once again another example of why it so important to let people tell their own stories. “Blue Beetle’s” true strength is that is a latin story written, directed, and starring latin people, and I can’t express enough how important and how much better the film is because of this.
“Blue Beetle” certainly has its flaws, and probably won’t be able to drown out the naysayers for too long. But it is a ton of fun, and hits all the right beats of good time at the movies even if those beats are familiar to most.
And ya, shout out Nana. MVP.
Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
“Blue Beetle” is now playing in theaters. You can watch the trailer below.
