Review: “Blue Beetle”

A bright young man unexpectedly binds with a mutant insect that grants him superhuman abilities and makes him a target of some bad people who would rather weaponize his powers. That sounds like I’m recounting the origins of the seemingly never-ending series of Spider-man movies, but it’s actually the premise of Blue Beetle, the newest entry in the DC Extended Universe. Directed by Ángel Manuel Soto and written by Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer, Blue Beetle weds the character’s comic book roots with some fresh touches conceived just for the film adaptation, and while it’s far too familiar to make a lasting impression, it’s so steeped in Latino culture and strong family dynamics that it does manage to cultivate some sincerity out of the confines of its routine structure.

Xolo Maridueña stars as Jaime Reyes, who at the start of Blue Beetle is returning to his hometown of Palmera City (a sort of Latino metropolis conceived specifically for this movie in lieu of the comic’s original setting of El Paso, Texas) having just been the first member of his family to graduate college. But as promising as his future appears, he arrives to discover his home life as he knows it crumbling: his family is losing their business and their home, thanks to the encroaching presence of Kord Industries, a tech giant looking to expand by buying up the land just outside the city where struggling families like the Reyes’ reside, and that on top of all that, his father (Damián Alcázar) suffered a massive heart attack that Jaime was never informed of. A mishap at a custodial job that Jaime and his wise-cracking sister Milagro (Belissa Escobedo) results in him receiving an offer from Jenny Kord (Bruna Marquezine), the niece of Kord Industries CEO Victoria Kord (a gleefully vicious Susan Sarandon). But what Jaime doesn’t know when he innocently strolls into Kord Tower is that Jenny is preoccupied with stealing back a scarab that Victoria discovered that possesses powers she wants to harness to create a cyborg army. Jenny sends the scarab off with Jaime for safe-keeping, not informing him exactly what it is while warning him not to touch it—which of course he does, prompting the scarab to immediately bond with him, granting him an armored suit with a host of abilities that emerge whenever he’s in danger.

Blue Beetle, rather than making an effort to try something fresh with the bones of its story, revels in its derivative nature instead, from Jaime’s fumbling attempts to master his newfound powers, to the protracted climatic battle that largely fails to frame the physicality of the actors in any sort of visually interesting fashion, the characters becoming lost in the murky, effects-fueled chaos of the shots instead. But it thankfully rarely plays all this as little more than set-up for future installments and cross-overs (despite a mid-credits scene that suggests otherwise), and the film soars when it revolves around the Reyes family unit. Unlike many other heroes who, after gaining their powers, have to walk this difficult road alone, Jaime’s relatives are in with him from the start, and they are as integral a piece of his development and saving the day as he is. From the warmth of his mother (Elpidia Carrillo) to the winking wisdom of his nana (Adriana Barraza) to his uncle Rudy (George Lopez, in a comedic sidekick role that verges on over-bearing but ultimately never overstays his welcome), a conspiracy theorist who is in actuality a legitimate tech wiz, they all employ their various skills to the best of their abilities to help each other and their community. And Blue Beetle is very much about community and feeling seen. The script acknowledges the prejudices many Latino people face—mispronunciation of their names, for one—and contains some timely political themes, but it also champions their culture as one steeped in family and faith. Jaime may not be a loser in the same vein as, say, Peter Parker, but he’s still very much an underdog, and Maridueña’s performance is so charmingly earnest, it’s easy to get behind him—even if the film he’s at the center of lacks the same amount of ambition he possesses.

Blue Beetle is now playing in theaters. Runtime: 127 minutes. Rated PG-13.