Starring Cobra Kai star Xolo Maridueña and directed by Ángel Manuel Soto, Blue Beetle is a superhero film about young graduate Jaime Reyes (Maridueña) who fuses with an alien superweapon. In doing so, Jaime’s life is changed forever.
Part Iron Man, part Spider-Man, part Big Bad Beetleborg, Blue Beetle is a film about a young teen who is given phenomenal powers, but unfortunately for him, he didn’t want them. The film also stars Adriana Barraza, Damián Alcázar, Elpidia Carrillo, Belissa Escobedo, George Lopez, Bruna Marquezine, and Susan Sarandon with Becky G voicing the Scarab.
This ain’t what you want
Blue Beetle is a lot of fun. The majority of it comes from the family dynamic at the centre of the story. The Reyes family is wonderfully sweet. Their dynamic is charming and emotional and gives something to the film that has been missing from a lot of superhero films – humanity. The film sets up the relationships within the family well and they, for the most part, have an emotional pay-off.
What adds to this emotional core is a fairly straightforward superhero origin story. Boy meets girl, girl gives boy world-ending weapon, world-ending weapon bonds with boy. With such a charming script this film works really well.
What doesn’t work for the film is the surprisingly unimpressive Susan Sarandon, who plays the villain of the piece. There is a decent motivation for her but it’s barely touched on. Now I will say the villainous muscle of the film, played by Raoul Max Trujillo, is interesting. Carapax is a silent assassin, he delivers his performance simply through his presence. When the third act hits he gets a great moment that resonated well with me. It’s not the only impressive scene though, there are several emotional moments throughout the film that I think will hit with a lot of audiences.
Now with all superhero films, you have to speak about the action, so how is the action? It’s pretty great. The innovation of weaponry that Jaime has at his disposal is interesting and the fights escalate in a meaningful manner. The final fight is your usual hero versus his mirror self but it’s saved by the human element within the film.
Blue Beetle, for me, is one of the best recent superhero films I’ve seen. With a heartfelt and emotional core bolstered by impressive action, this little bug has a big debut. I recommend this film to the whole family.
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