This is a review for Warner Bros. Pictures’ DC action-adventure superhero movie Blue Beetle – directed by Ángel Manuel Soto.
It’s the first time this character has made it to the big screen, since a previous live-action adaptation was in an episode of a TV series called Smallville, in 2011.
Synopsis
Recent college grad Jaime Reyes returns home full of aspirations for his future, only to find that home is not quite as he left it. As he searches to find his purpose in the world, fate intervenes when Jaime unexpectedly finds himself in possession of an ancient relic of alien biotechnology: the Scarab. When the Scarab suddenly chooses Jaime to be its symbiotic host, he is bestowed with an incredible suit of armor capable of extraordinary and unpredictable powers, forever changing his destiny as he becomes the Super Hero BLUE BEETLE.
Review
Blue Beetle is an exciting and refreshing DC origin movie, filled with a lot of heart, comedy and family values being the stongest part, at the centre of it all. It also has a solid story to follow, with a likeable lead and great supporting actors.
There’s plenty of exposition building in this film; right from the beginning with an excellent use of the intro, that adds context for the rest of the film.
Xolo Maridueña’s performance is brilliant, charismatic and he brings plenty of energy to the role. Ever since he was in Cobra Kai, Xolo has become a strong lead to root for. It was a great choice to cast this actor, who embodies Jaime Reyes/Blue Beetle perfectly.
This is the first role that I’ve seen Bruna Marquezine in, who plays Jenny Kord, and I think she’s done a fantastic job in the role.
Some of the other performances from Reyes family members were also surprising to see that they had more of an involvement. Especially Nana Reyes (Adriana Barraza) who steals every scene that she’s in, including that badass moment in the last of part of the film.
The only thing that didn’t vibe with me much was the overuse of George Lopez’ character Rudy Reyes; it seems like he was just trying too hard to be funny in so many scenes, sometimes it was funny, but mostly scenes became drawn-out that he was in.
If I were to compare this with other content, it feels like watching the first Ant-Man film, Iron Man 2 and Ms. Marvel combined; with how the villains are, the comedic aspects and family dynamics. The villain; Victoria Kord (Susan Sarandon) was also written with similar intentions into the plot like Corey Stoll’s character Darren Cross.
There’s multiple awsome action-packed fight scenes with the villain Conrad Carapax (Raoul Trujillo), who played a character that was actually three-dimensional; with a deeper arc. All of this combined was, something that I was hoping to see for the villain from The Flash, and they have now succeeded in these aspects with Blue Beetle.
The film is 2 hours and 7 minutes long, however, it’s fast paced.
Visuals
The decision to make this suit physically rather than completely CG has paid off really well! The suit looks amazing in all of the scenes.
There is of course CG involved in the transformations and the initial transformation was brilliant, yet shocking as the scenes were leaning visually on the side of horror.
With all of the recent DC films that have come out such as Black Adam, Shazam: Fury of the Gods, and The Flash, this has by far the best visuals, both in use of physical sets, colour grading, and costume designs, as well as CGI.
I also loved the entire idea to not make a dull generic looking city, by design this looks more like it’s comical and slightly futuristic; with all of the vibrant light-up holograthic type building signs.
Music
The soundtracks by Bobby Krlic are fantastic and contemporary, definitely helps to keep up with the momentum of the films’ fast-pace.
Final thoughts
A thoroughly enjoyable, refreshing and action-packed film, with a lot of sincere and endearing scenes.
The story was well structured and hopefully there will be more to come for Xolo Maridueña as this character. This has the potential for being a superhero Summer hit for Warner Bros.
If Warner Bros. can continue making high quality engaging stories both written and visually like this, then there’s hope for future DC movies.
Are there credit scenes in Blue Beetle?
Yes, there are two credit scenes in Blue Beetle. One is something that could potentially lead into a second film and the second is more of a joke in the post-credits.
See the official trailer here:
