Blue Beetle, 2023.
Directed by Angel Manuel Soto.
Starring Xolo Maridueña, Adriana Barraza, Damián Alcázar, Susan Sarandon, Raoul Max Trujillo, George Lopez, Elpidia Carrillo, Bruna Marquezine, Belissa Escobedo, Harvey Guillén, Gabrielle Ortiz, Yuli Zorrilla, Oshún Ramirez, Ayden Rivera, Marcus Nelson, Jorge Jimenez, and Becky G.
SYNOPSIS:
An alien relic chooses Jaime Reyes to be its symbiotic host, bestowing the teenager with a suit of armor that’s capable of extraordinary and unpredictable powers, forever changing his destiny as he becomes the superhero, Blue Beetle.
This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, Blue Beetle wouldn’t exist.
Everything about director Angel Manuel Soto’s and screenwriter Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer’s Blue Beetle is inherently ripe for a refreshingly familiar superhero origin story given the Latino protagonist Jamie Reyes (a likable enough Xolo Maridueña), but whether it be the fault of the filmmakers or studio interference, the film can’t help itself from shedding its uniqueness, opting for something much more disappointingly generic. For a film rightfully and proudly touting itself as the first Latino superhero movie, that aspect barely feels present aside from a few forced thematic discussions.
Unabashedly about family, the camaraderie between the Reyes tribe is certainly amusing, energetic, and heartwarming. Jamie has his father Alberto (Damián Alcázar) as a sage-like influence keeping the family bond tight during rough financial times, a sister Milagro (Belissa Escobedo) whom he seeks out work with in hopes of saving the family house, his grandmother (Adriana Barraza) with a secret rebellious past, and a kooky paranoid uncle Rudy played by George Lopez providing much of the comic relief. That’s not the entire family, but it does cover the major players, all of whom are living in the fictional Palermo City, a warm and sunny place with many colors popping, making for a welcome stark contrast from the usual locations such as New York.
Coming back home from out of state and earning a pre-law degree, Jaime is saddened to learn that while he was away, money became tight, which has caused the family to pull the trigger on selling their cherished home. As Jamie vows to look for work to prevent this from happening, a chance encounter leads to him verbally defending Jenny Kord (Bruna Marquezine), the niece of Kord Industries owner Victoria (a truly terrible Susan Sarandon, not necessarily helped by such a generic script), a businesswoman searching for an alien scarab relic capable of creating a super soldier. Ever since Jenny’s father died, Victoria has pivoted the corporation from something useful benefiting the lives of everyday civilians into military research and development, much to the disgust of Jenny, leading to friction and arguments over morals.
Nevertheless, this allows Jamie, who is already crushing hard on Jenny, a possible position at their headquarters, which never comes to fruition considering that when he enters the building, she gives him a box containing the scarab and told to escape, protecting the possession with his life. Naturally, this silly family can’t help themselves from not peeking inside, which is when the relic chooses Jamie to become its host and the titular superhero. The Blue Beetle costume and abilities are a rather unremarkable amalgamation of a cybernetic Spider-Man and bootleg Green Lantern capable of creating electric shock waves. Unsurprisingly, this also means most of the action is a cluttered assault of CGI chaos set to a score that veers between clichéd superhero musical notes and a somewhat inspired synthesized beat.
Far more frustrating is that Blue Beetle, which starts out as a lighthearted comedy with small-scale, street-level narrative ambitions in regards to saving a family home, doesn’t just become a superhero movie, but instantly transforms into one about taking down an evil corporation complete with additional discoveries of past technology and storming villainous bases. It consistently becomes less personal and more about redoing the standard tropes but with Latino characters and humor.
This is especially frustrating since while learning how to synchronize with the suit and play the role of the superhero, Jamie finds himself at odds against a similar super soldier in Victoria’s prized cybernetic henchmen Carapax the Indestructible Man (Raoul Max Trujillo), who eventually receives a brief, harrowing flashback speaking to a far more intriguing take on a Latino based superhero/supervillain material. It also feels like a huge mistake not to give a major villain any characterization until the final battle.
Despite a mid-ending credits stinger teasing more to come, there is also the elephant in the room that none of this matters with James Gunn rebooting the DCEU. Of course, that would also be fine if Blue Beetle were solid as a standalone film, but it amounts to an overly long bunch of forgettable nothingness. That’s a shame since this ensemble and cast are funny and charming, with this genre deserving more diversity and representation. Instead, Latino people now have their very own bad DCEU movie.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com
Originally published August 18, 2023. Updated August 19, 2023.
