By Kimberly Grant
These days more and more people are experiencing superhero movie fatigue. Even fanboys and fangirls are growing weary. Like many aspects of entertainment, the superhero movie seems to be on a decline in the hearts and minds of audiences. Enter Blue Beetle.
DC’s Blue Beetle is currently in theaters.
All About Character
Our title character, Blue Beetle also known as Jaime Reyes (played by Xolo Maridueña of Cobra Kai fame) is a recent graduate of Gotham University’s pre-law program. He can’t find a job until he’s given a rare opportunity to be a superhero of Latin origin by Jenny Kord (Bruna Marquezine), who is the CEO of KORD Industries. KORD Industries is working on a super soldier serum that can be sold to the US Government as weapons. Jenny happens upon a scarab that is the nexus for all of the serum and decides to steal it, then give it to Jaime.
This is mostly interesting stuff, but not a great origin story. Jenny’s actions make no sense for someone who’s supposed to be the CEO. Then, handing priceless company property to someone she doesn’t know to take it God knows where wasn’t very smart. This company property turns out to be a shiny blue scarab (beetle) that contains a symbiotic alien who chooses Jaime to be its host. This alien, Khaji-Da (voiced by Becky G), has no origin story by the way.
Something’s Missing
Blue Beetle was directed by Angel Manuel Soto for his first theatrical film. The script was written by Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer who wrote Miss Bala starring Gina Rodriguez. If you like stories with heart and a Latin twist, then you’re in for a treat. Blue Beetle is clearly written and produced by Latinos for Latinos. This is refreshing. Unfortunately, I spent more time than I care to admit trying to figure out what was missing in this movie.
As a writer, I’m all about character development and story. The story needs to grip its audience. In the case of Blue Beetle the movie fails to truly reel the audience in. There was a lot of effort put into making the audience feel like they’re a part of the family, but the connection doesn’t last. And there’s not a good plot to grab onto and keep audiences engaged. There are also holes in the plot.
We don’t know where the scarab is from. We don’t know why the scarab chooses Jaime. We don’t know why Uncle Rudy is such an engineering genius. All we can tell is that Blue Beetle has the bit-by-a-bug origin story like Spider-Man and the voice inside his head like Venom. Only Blue Beetle is not as interesting as Spider-Man and Venom.
Family Connections
Maridueña does not carry this movie and spends a good chunk of it going through the motions of acting without actually being memorable. Unfortunately for Maridueña, Jaime’s family is more character driven and relatable in the movie than the title character. Uncle Rudy (George Lopez) is a mohawked stoner who doesn’t trust the government and drives a pickup truck that’s built like a tank. Uncle Rudy is also an engineer whose creations are unique and inventive; just needs a few love taps to work. Lastly, Rudy provides most of the comic relief in the film.
Jaime’s sister, Milagro (Belissa Escobedo) is a typical little sister, who has badass qualities. She holds her brother to a higher standard to help him better himself, even though she can’t do the same for herself. That said, Milagro is bold and brings a strong female presence to the film. Likewise, Nana (Adriana Barraza), Jaime and Milagro’s abuela, is another badass Reyes woman. Nana’s strength and past experiences are just what this story needs to keep the audience interested. And, Nana needs her own origin story.
As an observation, the supporting characters are more entertaining than the lead. Not a good sign. It means Maridueña doesn’t really connect with the audience or his character and can’t carry this movie. In the hands of another Latino actor, Blue Beetle could have been better. In fact, a better story would have made the film better. And, then there’s the actors who play the movie’s villains.
Casting Questioning
Susan Sarandon as Victoria Kord, Jenny’s aunt, usually doesn’t play the villain and it shows. She’s terrible as the angry white lady. She also doesn’t seem to be related at all to her movie niece, Jenny. Jenny as the CEO of KORD Industries and does stand up to her aunt, the bully. Marquezine’s acting, though, needs work. She barely has chemistry with Maridueña.
B-Level villain Carapax (Raoul Max Trujillo of Mayans M.C. fame), is more formidable than Sarandon. He’s big, scary, and bionic. Too bad he’s not in more of the movie. His back story would have added greatly to the plot of Blue Beetle and fleshed out the characters. This movie has some holes in it that detract from the story.
Unfortunately, Blue Beetle represents why people are experiencing superhero movie fatigue. Then again, DC Comics’ latest films have mostly been not great, so Blue Beetle is just par for the course. This origin story, while made for and by Latinos, doesn’t spend enough time developing the story or its lead character.
If you’re wondering what my favorite action films are for 2023 (so far), you can read my reviews in my Entertainment Blog.
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