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Update: August 16,2023
Dragonlord’s Review of BLUE BEETLE (No Spoilers)
Bottom Line: A formulaic but pleasant ride, Blue Beetle is a welcomed, smaller-scale superhero movie that clicks when it focuses more on the family aspect than the ho-hum action battles.
Jamie Reyes (Xolo Maridueña from Cobra Kai fame) is a recent college grad who comes back to the Miami-like fictional city of Palmera City but is distressed to learned that his father lost his business due to a heart attack and that their family home is on the verge of being gentrified by Kord Industries. Due to some extraordinary circumstances, Jamie comes into contact with an alien scarab which fuses with him giving him a powerful exoskeleton armor, becoming the superhero known as Blue Beetle.
Blue Beetle was originally developed to be an exclusive streaming movie for HBO Max but later on upgraded to a theatrical release. And it was the right move for prestige and legacy purposes as Blue Beetle will have the distinction of being the first superhero live-action movie with a Latino main character, writer and director. I also found the movie to be a fun smaller-scale standalone superhero movie that succeeds when it is focusing more on the family aspect rather than the ho-hum action battles.
Xolo is pretty good and likable as the protagonist but felt there was something missing – like a key scene of introspection, character flaw, trait, struggle, resolution or redemption – that would have put the character over and firmly win me over. His Blue Beetle will remind viewers of a mishmash of other superhero characters like Iron Man (extremis armor, talking A.I.), Spider-Man (talking A.I.) or Venom (shapeshifting, talking symbiote alien). Cannot wait to see Jamie interact with other DCU characters in the future as his affable personality would generate some fun dynamics with other superheroes and supervillains.
One detail I truly appreciate is that Jamie’s clothes burn when he transforms into Blue Beetle and he is completely naked when the suit is gone. The armor comes from within Jamie’s body, so naturally whatever clothes Jamie is wearing will be torn to shreds or burned in this movie. This is a very minor awkward detail but one I praise the filmmakers for going with this direction. In this modern age of superheroes where nano-technologies or magic conveniently gives people everything from mask, clothes or weapons without any logical afterthoughts, it’s nice to see some attention to the small inconvenient details. (One day I hope I can finish my article on how nanotech and such led to the quality decline in superhero movies and contributed to its current lazy writing.)
Jamie’s family members are a big part of the charm of the movie. Aside from the heavy presentation to the Latino culture, the Reyes family is filled with chaos, humor, warmth and love. The family dynamic reminds me a lot of the underrated Ms. Marvel show on Disney+. George Lopez, to my big surprise, won me over as the paranoid but capable Uncle Rudy. From the trailer, Lopez seemed annoying but you have to watch the entire movie to enjoy the comedy and appeal he brings to the table. From the dad, mom, sis and grandma, each brought a little something to the ensemble piece.
Susan Sarandon was just passable as the generic corporate villain. Raoul Max Trujillo, who initially looked like Latino Kraven, was serviceable as the henchman Carapax but maybe a wild and crazier personality would have been more effective than his current brooding, stoic persona. His backstory came out too late at the end and should have been revealed midway in the movie. Not really amazing but I still found Brazilian actress Bruna Marquezine to be cute as the romantic interest Jenny Kord.
Rounding off my other thoughts on the movie. The story is pretty formulaic and sometimes the film felt like it’s more suited as a TV movie. Blue Beetle’s battle scenes lacked excitement as he is bulletproof and how easily he disposes of the tactical goon squad. His fight with his evil counterpart with the OMAC suit lacked any real cleverness or inspired creativity. The score by Bobby Krlic was nice and the emotional synthwave music at a pivotal scene near the end was just outstanding. Props to the movie for incorporating Dan Garret and Ted Kord, the previous Blue Beetles in the comic books, to the story. There are two post-credits scenes with the second stinger just being a troll gag.
DC Films co-CEO James Gunn said that Jamie Reyes will be the first character in the DCU. Having watched the film, Gunn should just consider Blue Beetle as the first DCU film as the movie is pretty much standalone with very minimal references to the larger DC universe. If there is a future Blue Beetle sequel, I hope the family members play only a small role or else this might be another Shazam! Fury of the Gods disaster. But talks of a sequel might be too premature as the DC Films brand is so damaged right now from the minds of the general public that this movie not even cross $250 million worldwide.
RATING: 6/10
(If you appreciate my reviews, please leave a Like. Thanks.)
Dragonlord’s Review of BLUE BEETLE (No Spoilers)
Bottom Line: A formulaic but pleasant ride, Blue Beetle is a welcomed, smaller-scale superhero movie that clicks when it focuses more on the family aspect than the ho-hum action battles.
Jamie Reyes (Xolo Maridueña from Cobra Kai fame) is a recent college grad who comes back to the Miami-like fictional city of Palmera City but is distressed to learned that his father lost his business due to a heart attack and that their family home is on the verge of being gentrified by Kord Industries. Due to some extraordinary circumstances, Jamie comes into contact with an alien scarab which fuses with him giving him a powerful exoskeleton armor, becoming the superhero known as Blue Beetle.
Blue Beetle was originally developed to be an exclusive streaming movie for HBO Max but later on upgraded to a theatrical release. And it was the right move for prestige and legacy purposes as Blue Beetle will have the distinction of being the first superhero live-action movie with a Latino main character, writer and director. I also found the movie to be a fun smaller-scale standalone superhero movie that succeeds when it is focusing more on the family aspect rather than the ho-hum action battles.
Xolo is pretty good and likable as the protagonist but felt there was something missing – like a key scene of introspection, character flaw, trait, struggle, resolution or redemption – that would have put the character over and firmly win me over. His Blue Beetle will remind viewers of a mishmash of other superhero characters like Iron Man (extremis armor, talking A.I.), Spider-Man (talking A.I.) or Venom (shapeshifting, talking symbiote alien). Cannot wait to see Jamie interact with other DCU characters in the future as his affable personality would generate some fun dynamics with other superheroes and supervillains.
One detail I truly appreciate is that Jamie’s clothes burn when he transforms into Blue Beetle and he is completely naked when the suit is gone. The armor comes from within Jamie’s body, so naturally whatever clothes Jamie is wearing will be torn to shreds or burned in this movie. This is a very minor awkward detail but one I praise the filmmakers for going with this direction. In this modern age of superheroes where nano-technologies or magic conveniently gives people everything from mask, clothes or weapons without any logical afterthoughts, it’s nice to see some attention to the small inconvenient details. (One day I hope I can finish my article on how nanotech and such led to the quality decline in superhero movies and contributed to its current lazy writing.)
Jamie’s family members are a big part of the charm of the movie. Aside from the heavy presentation to the Latino culture, the Reyes family is filled with chaos, humor, warmth and love. The family dynamic reminds me a lot of the underrated Ms. Marvel show on Disney+. George Lopez, to my big surprise, won me over as the paranoid but capable Uncle Rudy. From the trailer, Lopez seemed annoying but you have to watch the entire movie to enjoy the comedy and appeal he brings to the table. From the dad, mom, sis and grandma, each brought a little something to the ensemble piece.
Susan Sarandon was just passable as the generic corporate villain. Raoul Max Trujillo, who initially looked like Latino Kraven, was serviceable as the henchman Carapax but maybe a wild and crazier personality would have been more effective than his current brooding, stoic persona. His backstory came out too late at the end and should have been revealed midway in the movie. Not really amazing but I still found Brazilian actress Bruna Marquezine to be cute as the romantic interest Jenny Kord.
Rounding off my other thoughts on the movie. The story is pretty formulaic and sometimes the film felt like it’s more suited as a TV movie. Blue Beetle’s battle scenes lacked excitement as he is bulletproof and how easily he disposes of the tactical goon squad. His fight with his evil counterpart with the OMAC suit lacked any real cleverness or inspired creativity. The score by Bobby Krlic was nice and the emotional synthwave music at a pivotal scene near the end was just outstanding. Props to the movie for incorporating Dan Garret and Ted Kord, the previous Blue Beetles in the comic books, to the story. There are two post-credits scenes with the second stinger just being a troll gag.
DC Films co-CEO James Gunn said that Jamie Reyes will be the first character in the DCU. Having watched the film, Gunn should just consider Blue Beetle as the first DCU film as the movie is pretty much standalone with very minimal references to the larger DC universe. If there is a future Blue Beetle sequel, I hope the family members play only a small role or else this might be another Shazam! Fury of the Gods disaster. But talks of a sequel might be too premature as the DC Films brand is so damaged right now from the minds of the general public that this movie not even cross $250 million worldwide.
RATING: 6/10
(If you appreciate my reviews, please leave a Like. Thanks.)
