Since the release of Spider-man: No Way Home, not a single superhero movie or show has drawn any of my interest or attention, until Blue Beetle. Don’t be mistaken, I was aware of the high probability of mediocrity, but two aspects in particular made me partial to the film. First is the casting of Xolo Maridueña as Jaime Reyes, and second, the character of Blue Beetle and his relative obscurity in comparison to many other DC heroes. What follows is my review of Blue Beetle, from the good to the bad to everything in between. There may be light spoilers ahead, so tread carefully if you wish not to spoil the movie for yourself.
First, I’ll start with the good. The best aspect of this movie was exactly what I hoped: Xolo Maridueña as Jaime Reyes/Blue Beetle. It felt as though Maridueña was born for this role, and he proved it in the film. He is one of the most faithfully-adapted superheroes I’ve seen in a long time, both on and under the surface of the character. The other standout actor/character was George Lopez as Jaime’s wacky Uncle Rudy. His main purpose in the film was comedic relief, and he delivered almost every chance he got. He was quite hilarious.
Another positive characteristic of the film was the theme and dynamic of family. While I had my issues with some of the messaging surrounding Jaime’s family as well as their role in the finale of the film, I couldn’t help but smile at the connection between the group that was presented on screen. In particular, it was heartwarming to finally see a positive, competent, loving, and protective father figure. It feels as though most Hollywood movies have been stripped of that for some time.
The final positive aspect of the movie I want to highlight was the references and use of the deeper Blue Beetle lore. Though many superhero movies are criticized for their countless hints, easter eggs, and cameos that lead nowhere, not only did Blue Beetle have many of its own, it made them meaningful. As a genuine fan of the character and back story, I was thrilled to see the Dan Garrett and Ted Kord suits, as well as Ted Kord’s ‘”Beetle” airship. And they weren’t just there for spectacle either, but tied into the world and the plot of the movie itself. Everything was better fleshed out because of the references, not in spite of them. All of it reminded me of the first two Ant-Man films in the best of ways.
Now, let’s move onto the negatives because there are multiple. Firstly, the villains were predictably forgettable. Victoria Kord was the typical billionaire-CEO who wants to make weapons of mass destruction to “create a safer world”. We’ve seen that so many times already, and there was no unique spin, so she was nothing special. Similarly, Carapax was a copy-paste antagonist as well. He felt like an amalgamation of Ironmonger and Whiplash from the first two Iron Man movies put together, but he also didn’t bring anything new to the character trope he occupied. So while the two villains were fine, they felt more like placeholders than anything else.
The next negative I wanted to highlight was also predictable in the most irritating way. The film was layered with “subtle” political messages and jabs throughout. This should be no surprise, and I expected as much going in, but I still cringed and lost immersion when they were uttered. Surely the writers of the film patted themselves on the back, reveling in how clever they were, when in reality the large majority of the population can see how hamfisted and forced their agendas are into this film and the ones like it. This trend in superhero movies has been developing for a few years now, and Blue Beetle was no exception to the rule. Some throwaway lines included, “Batman’s a fascist!” and a claim that Ted Kord’s father was a sexist for leaving the company to his son and not to Ted’s older sister Victoria. To make matters worse, that latter line was uttered by Ted Kord’s own daughter, a beneficiary of her father’s inheritance! To top it all off, this movie had a very us-vs.-them mentality that could’ve been done well, but was instead very surface-level and low effort. Poor Mexicans good! Rich white people bad! No nuance existed, but that’s all par for the course for modern Hollywood blockbusters.
Finally, this movie was just very bland. The costumes were cool, but many of the DCEU elements were still present visually. Everything was dark and on fire by the end. The beginning was promising, as the atmosphere was light (in a physical, not emotional sense), but again it devolved into the old way of doing things. Almost everything about this film was forgettable, and I think most people realized this beforehand based on the trailers. Blue Beetle really brought nothing new to the superhero movie table, which I found to be a lamentable fault.
I knew what I was getting into going to see Blue Beetle, and it perfectly met my expectations. Xolo Maridueña as Jaime Reyes/Blue Beetle was the best part by far, while some side characters, family dynamics, and meaningful lore added to my enjoyment. Boring villains, forced political messages, and overall mediocrity tarnished the film, however, and I can concretely say Blue Beetle is exactly what we all thought. If you’re still on a superhero kick or want to support the great young Cobra Kai actor like I did, go enjoy it! But if you’re tired of the sameness of the genre in recent years and the “Hollywood message” jabs underneath every film, than you probably don’t need me to tell you to skip this one. DC seems lost in the realm of movies, and Blue Beetle gives no indication that it will be of any help resolving that issue.
Russell A. Wells 