Blue Beetle
Latino representation in superhero films and TV shows is important, yet something that’s rarely occurred, especially on the big screen.
Looking to reverse that trend with a full-fledged feature, Warner Bros. and DC get off to a decent enough start with Blue Beetle, a fairly conventional origin story but with enough creative twists to stand out from some of its peers.
Like other adaptations of less popular comic book characters, the film’s greatest asset is its lack of familiarity for most viewers, which lends a welcome sense of discovery to recent college grad Jaime Reyes (Xolo Maridueña) and his path to fusing with a blue alien scarab that grants him superhuman powers.
Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer, whose last script was the horrendous English-language remake of Miss Bala, also layers the story with lovely doses of Latino life, stressing the importance of family while having fun with cultural inside jokes and references that will surely play well for the target audience.
It’s still an origin story, however, and despite the joys of seeing what kind of crazy new armor or weapon will next emerge from Jaime’s suit, the excessive time devoted to world-building blunts much of the film’s creativity. And while the Reyes clan’s love beats loudly, attempts at humor largely fall flat — though lord knows George Lopez’s conspiracy theorist Uncle Rudy tries — and Jaime’s convenient romancing of heiress Jenny Kord (Bruna Marquezine) reeks of Stockholm Syndrome.
In addition, Susan Sarandon makes for an unconvincing villain, and director Angel Manuel Soto (Charm City Kings) isn’t going to win any accolades for his action filmmaking anytime soon. Instead, Blue Beetle is at its best when it leans into its weird, Ant-Man-like side that’s tied to the bygone incarnation of the titular hero — a kind of K-Mart version of Gotham and Metropolis caped crusaders whose gadgets and schemes only sometimes worked.
Were this film to spawn a sequel, Soto — or whoever’s behind the camera — would be wise to include more flying, crawling beetle-shaped mobiles with fart switches.
Grade: B-minus. Rated PG-13. Now playing at AMC River Hills 10, Carolina Cinemark, and Regal Biltmore Grande.
(Photo: Warner Bros.)
