Directed By Angel Manuel Soto

Starring – Xolo Mariduena, George Lopez, Susan Sarandon

The Plot – An alien relic chooses Jaime Reyes (Mariduena) to be its symbiotic host, bestowing the teenager with a suit of armor that’s capable of extraordinary and unpredictable powers, forever changing his destiny as he becomes the superhero, Blue Beetle.

Rated PG-13 for sequences of action and violence, adult language, and some suggestive references

Blue Beetle – Official Trailer – YouTube

POSITIVES

If you were to summarize “Blue Beetle” into a word, it would easily be ‘Balance’. Balance in the form of material, which markets itself towards children, but evidently garners an adult-emphasized edginess that occasionally pushes the PG-13 rating to unchartered waters. Balance in a tonal capacity, which values the humor and heart of the storytelling, without compromising one over the other. But especially balance in the elements of its characterization, which not only vividly articulate an origins story for Jaime Reyes by sacrificing many of the parallels in cliches that stitch many of these films together, but also for his surrounding family, who measure an irreplacable warmth and earnesty to the proceedings that grounds much of the ambitious science fiction themes and tech to eye level with its audience. Aside from this, the film is blanketed with a uniqueness to production value that visually makes “Blue Beetle” stand out among its grimly saturated predecessors, with neon lighting, tropical color schemes, and geographic imagery exuding an infectious luminescence within Mexico’s chaotic skylight. It’s also a breath of fresh air for the newly reformed James Gunn version of the D.C.U, in that it doesn’t require itself to unnecessarily tie itself to any other property or character of the extended universe, nor does it require the conflict to be some epic power struggle between sides that affects the world hanging in the balance. This is perhaps most important to me, as I feel too many superhero films anymore are attempting to become the next “Avengers: Endgame”, but “Blue Beetle” feels comfortable in its own wings, using them to establish to flesh out a family-first narrative and little-known superhero, who is not only full of fun technological weaponry that constantly drive the imagination, but also in attaining perfection in every single one of the assembled ensemble. On this aspect, Xolo Mariduena, fresh from the dojo’s of “Cobra Kai”, zeroes in even further on his permeating charisma and limitless physicality, which has possibly materialized the next big action star of the forth-coming generation. Mariduena shines with or without the suit, proving an equally appealing indulgence for voice acting, but it’s his time spent with his on-screen surrounding family that conjures an effortless believability between each of their dynamics, especially the one he shares with on-screen uncle, George Lopez, which feels like the Alfred to his Batman, but without one-dimensional outlines that condemn them to such comparisons. Lopez is valued for being able to elicit a natural humor and humility to scenes that constantly call for them, with a measure for effectiveness that never overstays its welcome, nor underwhelms the magnitude of the material. Lastly, while the action sequences are certainly nothing exceptional in concept or execution, the majority of such are depicted clearly and concise with patient editing and varying angles, which is a challenge considering most of them happen at night, with two energetic characters embattled in such. Some of these did bring derivative reminders of other superhero properties, such as the splitting bus from “Doctor Strange” or what is nearly the identical resolution to the first “Iron Man”, but I can forgive a film and overall direction from Angel Manuel Soto, who eagerly exudes the fun and imaginative elements of comic books, which feel ripe with necessity in a film with two dueling enemies, each with their capabilities of flight. The costumes are a lot of fun to experience and interpret, with a sturdy combination of C.G and practical effects work bringing them to life, and the element of stakes in a genre that isn’t always involved with them.

NEGATIVES

As to where the entirety of our protagonist characters hit it out of the park with a combination of good-to-great performances and three-dimensional character outlines, the antagonist side of the coin is plagued by underwritten, underutilized and especially underwhelming antagonists who feel plucked from any other superhero movie pertaining to corporate greed. This especially pains me for Susan Sarandon, who has always been one of my favorite actresses from the first half of my moviegoing life, but here is given the kind of depth and corresponding material that doesn’t allow her to even temporarily stand-out among the fold, leaving such a valued actress buried by a script that doesn’t cement her as the fourth most important character, let alone second. She’s joined by a male right hand muscle who does the entirety of the fight sequences with Blue Beetle, and while the film tries out unveil a deeper element of backstory with his character during the last moments of the third act, it’s too little too late in the two hour duration, feeling like an aimless afterthought that probably should’ve been brought along simultaneously with the arc of Jaime. Speaking of that run time, I wouldn’t necessarily say the film is too long at 122 minutes, but it sometimes doesn’t make the most of its minutes in attaining the kind of urgency in the narrative needed to appeal to mostly first-time fans of this character. Part of the problem, as previously mentioned, is certainly in its lack of a corresponding antagonist narrative, which disappears as much as thirty-five minutes from the focus at one point, and could’ve helped take some of the pressure off of Jaime and his family, but so much more of the problem persists with the manifestation of this Blue Beetle technology to Jaime, and how he’s able to understand and steer it succesfully, all within the film’s opening half hour. This makes the first act feel abruptly rushed with developments, and when compared to the rest of the film sedating itself inside of the beats of the script’s many dramatic factors, doesn’t get the pacing off to the most fitting of consistencies.

OVERALL
“Blue Beetle” is a refreshingly fitting first step for the newly-reformed D.C Universe, thanks to its family-focused narrative and consistency among balance that it finds in many of the elements it previously overlooked in bigger properties. Xolo Mariduena extends his wings with a star-making performance as the titular superhero, and the pungency of personality is littered casually in a culture-charged production value, but it’s still a compelling villain or original direction away from being a game-changer for the brand.

My Grade: 7/10 or B