Director: Angel Manuel Soto
Writer: Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer
Stars: Xolo Ramirez, Susan Sarandon, Adriana Barraza
Synopsis: An alien scarab chooses college graduate Jaime Reyes 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 known as Blue Beetle.
Blue Beetle is another frustrating superhero outing for Detective Comics, which finds enough heart in the community of characters folding into a comic book movie that follows the genre playbook step by step. A one-note villain, check. A magnetic lead in love with a drop-dead gorgeous love interest caught up in a plot that has worldwide consequences, check. A few supporting characters who are as well-rounded and three-dimensional as a couple of Flatheads, check. But hell, at least they are a lot of fun. And that’s what makes the fresh premise of a Mexican-American superhero finally gracing the silver screen such a frustratingly mixed bag of potential and uninspired storytelling.
The story follows Jaime Reyes (Xolo Ramirez), a recent pre-law graduate who is the first in his family to earn a college degree. Returning home to a hero’s welcome, his family celebrates his return. That’s until his sister Milagro (Belissa Escobedo) breaks some bad news to him: They are losing the house, and the family business went bankrupt because his father, Alberto (Damián Alcázar), suffered a heart attack. Jaime’s mother, Rocio (Elpidia Carrillo), and his beloved Nana (Adriana Barraza) felt strongly that it would have been a distraction to his education if they broke the terrible news.
Jaime vows to lift his family out of this predicament. He lands an interview with Kord Industries, a multinational research and development corporation specializing in military defense, after a chivalrous happenstance with Jenny (Bruna Marquezine), a beautiful young twenty-something and Kord’s CEO. Jenny’s father left her the company and disappeared mysteriously, to the ire of her Aunt Victoria (Susan Sarandon), who saw Kord as her life’s work. That’s when Jenny discovers Victoria has begun redeveloping defense weapons again, something the principles of her father were dead set against.
While investigating, Jenny finds Victoria possessing the Scarab, an ancient relic of alien technology. While trying to escape with the artifact, she hands it off to Jaime, who is waiting for his interview. Jaime violates the one instruction she gave him by not opening the box. The Scarab doesn’t attack when he does but instead becomes a part of him. Jaime transforms into the Blue Beetle against his will. But, as we know, if you live by the code of Community’s Jeff Winger, you don’t choose to be a hero. It’s thrust upon you.
I was excited when I read Angel Manuel Soto would helm Blue Beetle. Indeed, the director of the hidden gem Charm City Kings would find the subculture and that particular “thing” that makes this comic book hero ring true. And for the most part, he does this by offering a warm, big-hearted, Latinx “familismo” lens to view the iconic DC hero. This is portrayed with love and affection between the characters, particularly the father-son relationship that gives the dynamic its heart. Mirroring that sentiment is Marquezine’s Jenny, who never had a warm embrace growing up. Jaime also proposes using his superpowers to protect his family, but never by lethal force, freeing the film from stereotypes.
Written by Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer, Blue Beetle, at times, has horror film elements that are reminiscent of Venom. For instance, when the Scarab takes over Ramirez’s Jaime, this can be viewed as a form of reincarnation. The scene is graphic (and the reactions of the family members vary to the point where they seem out of place) and even terrifying. This mix, particularly at the film’s end, gives the Blue Beetle an uneven experience. Even if these scenes have an infusion of retro 80s movie-era homage, that works.
The script also has thinly veiled characters, particularly the villains, with Sarandon being a one-note cliché. While the villainous muscle, Carapax (Raoul Max Trujillo), earns a backstory, the payoff is rushed and more than predictable. Also, the script never delves deep enough into the backstories of Jaime’s family. For instance, George Lopez serves as the film’s comic relief; he’s hilarious here, but we never learn enough about why and how he’s such an IT expert and the Lucius Fox of the film. The same goes for Academy Award nominee Adriana Barraza. Her character is a kick-ass grandma fighting Victoria’s super soldiers alongside Jaime, indicating her former participation as a revolutionary out of nowhere. Too many characters feel incomplete for over a two-hour movie, and the story would have benefited dramatically from greater care and context.
And those aren’t strikes against the film’s narrative of a hero born of love instead of overwhelming trauma, but against a standard comic book formula that doesn’t take enough chances. This is strange, with this being James Gunn’s first significant decision in his new role as the DCEU’s managing puppet master. Why would a man who took enormous risks that revitalized Marvel with the Guardians franchise double down on formulaic superhero cliches? While the Blue Beetle has plenty of heart and a fresh perspective, the villains and the heroes are a forgettable blend of standard comic book fare that’s never as interesting as the movie’s relaxed, warm, and loving scenes where this DC film lives.
