When you hear DC you think of characters such as Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and many others before you end up thinking you’ve named them all until you hear some weird superhero names such as Blue Beetle. If you’re thinking, “Who?”, then don’t worry because you’re not the only one. Blue Beetle has only been around in comic books since 2006, which isn’t that long ago really. As a relatively new superhero, such as Ms. Marvel over at Disney, there is less of a legacy to draw upon, meaning filmmaker Ángel Manuel Soto has had a lot of freedom and creativity to put his own stamp on the character. The question is, does this film do the character justice, or is it in a league of his own?
Blue Beetle is a fun film, and it feels very kinetic, colourful and it has a very groovy soundtrack, something no other superhero film has tried before. It has an aesthetic that makes it look like it came out in the 1980s, with the neon blue colours and with graphics and designs looking like it came from Total Recall which are littered around the city and with the HUD (heads up display) inside the suit. As a result, it feels very retro, and not a lot of superhero films go for this look, instead they go for heavy CGI comic book scenery or hyper-realistic effects that make the characters fit into the real world, so to speak. These design choices, costumes and soundtrack all help to create a very visually unique film and there a lot of moments where you can’t help but think of some classic 1980s films with visual references to Robocop and Alien within the film in key moments.
The story of Blue Beetle is rather generic for a superhero film. This is essentially an origin story and I am sure audiences have seen many of those by now, sometimes two-fold such with Spider-Man and The Amazing Spider-Man. As a result we have a lot of conventions to tick off with this film, such as an iconic suit-up scene, a moment where the character must become a hero, and off course a mysterious object that makes the character the hero that he is, among many other tropes. These do sadly make this feel like just any old superhero film, but thanks to the style, story and cast it isn’t a bad thing, but it will make audiences think twice about seeing another new superhero film with so many being brought to the screen in recent years.
The story is centred around Jaime Reyes, a student who has not long graduated college and has returned home to find his whole family, which includes a Grandmother, Mother, Father, Sister and Uncle, have problems of their own. Realising that his family is struggling he decides to settle down and find a job. This leads him to a run in with Victoria Kord and her niece Jenny Kord. Jenny sneaks out an alien artefact from her Aunt’s company, an alien scarab, and she gives it to Jaime who soon bonds with it and then must battle Kord Industries in order to stop this technology from becoming a weapon of mass destruction. That is a very basic summary of the film but there is a lot of family comedy involved too, as well as a romantic subplot between Jenny and Jaime, and off course the mysterious history of the Blue Beetle. Xolo Maridueña is certainly charismatic and confident as the titular superhero, with a surprising turn for Susan Sarandon who plays the big baddie, Victoria Kord. The supporting cast are all just as fun as they all have great chemistry and feel like one big family unit with George Lopez’s Uncle Rudy being the obvious highlight.
Blue Beetle looks and feels very different. It has a strong direction from filmmaker Ángel Manuel Soto, who has a lot of risks at play with a big budget on a lesser known superhero. There are moments it feels like it is made for television and there are moments which really are cinematic. It is a careful balance, but it is refreshing to see a story such as this, especially with the emphasis on Latino culture as well, and we do need more diverse and quirky films such as Blue Beetle to balance the world-weary and over-used team up films that we are currently used to on the big screen.
★★★☆☆
3/5
Final Verdict:
Blue Beetle is very different from superhero films and it stands out in a very crowded marketplace filled with caped crusaders and men of steel. Xolo Maridueña shines as Jaime Reyes, portraying him as a confident but sensitive young man, and together with the neon-blue colour schemes and synthetic soundtrack make the film feel very stylish and retro. Blue Beetle is fun, its colourful and it pops out the screen, but it is a shame it copies a lot of other superhero film tropes, but it does have some pretty decent characters which does occasionally make you forget the film's flaws.
Thanks for reading today’s blog!
Alex Murray, the Head of Eyesight Productions
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