This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the work being covered here wouldn’t exist.
2023 has been a weird year for DC movies. At the start, James Gunn and Peter Safran assumed control of DC Studios and announced the first phase of their DC-based shared universe, beginning with 2025’s Superman: Legacy that Gunn will be writing and directing. While there is a potential promise for this line-up of movies and television shows, there were still a few films that have already been produced and just waiting for release, such as Shazam! Fury of the Gods and The Flash, both of which are box office disappointments. While we wait for the upcoming Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, the latest DC outing released seems small-scaled, but is that a benefit or a bug (no pun intended)?
In the realm of DC Comics, there have been three canonical Blue Beetles, including the most recent creation, Jaime Reyes, who has thrived in other media such as numerous animated series and now is headlining his own movie. Played by Xolo Maridueña, Jaime returns to his hometown Palmera City after graduating college and reunites with his family. He soon learns they will be losing their home due to financial difficulties stemming from increased rent and his father losing his job. As Jaime is suddenly giving a possible future at Kord Industries, he and his family become targets of the CEO Victoria Kord (Susan Sarandon), when he activates an alien scarab that attaches to him, creating an armored suit around him.
Given that the Blue Beetle mantle has been around since 1939, with multiple characters putting their own spin, any of them could have had their own movie. While there are numerous references to the second Blue Beetle, Ted Kord, as well as a classic Jack Kirby DC title, this is about the young Mexican and his family roped into a narrative that feels all too familiar. By the time Jaime Reyes made his comics debut in 2006, the Marvel Cinematic Universe was two years away. Had the character made his big screen debut around that time, we wouldn’t have recognized the tropes used. After watching Iron Man, Ant-Man and Spider-Man: Homecoming, all of which about heroes getting to grips with their super-powered suits whilst fighting an evil corporation, Blue Beetle is at a disadvantage during a time when superhero fatigue is possibly a thing.
However, while the plot isn’t about Earth-shattering stakes (or anything to do with the Multiverse), the company of the Reyes family is what salvages the film. As they hilariously react to their young hopeful member being transformed into a blue bug-like superhero, they all get involved in an adventure where they bring a lot of humor and heart, from Xolo Maridueña’s leading performance, to George Lopez plays the wacky uncle who thinks that Batman is a fascist. The film isn’t subtle or nuanced towards the clash between the working-class and the super-rich, but there is something generally sweet about the film’s Latino representation and how family plays into it.
The superhero spectacle is generic, but it is still slickly made by director Ángel Manuel Soto, who brings some flourishes to show that the film could have had its own unique look, such as the fictional Palmera City, which evokes elements of cyberpunk. As for Blue Beetle himself, his transformation has a visceral body horror feel that would please the Cronenberg fanatics, while his action sequences and power-set evoke the intense posing of the Power Rangers. Even the central family gets their share of the action, leading to some of the film’s laugh-out-loud moments.
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