Blue Beetle is the newest film from DC and Warner Bros along with the last remaining of the current DC Extended Universe. Unfortunately, just like with most of the recent films to come out of DC’s library, this is currently projected to be another film that will bomb at the box office! While there are certain circumstances that might occur to this such as the recent hurricanes going on in the West Coast of America, it doesn’t look it’s going to make it’s money back at all! So much so that it makes one wonder whether James Gunn and company might reconsider putting the Blue Beetle himself into his DC Universe! Whether that’s because of the lackluster marketing for the film or the quality of other DC movies is anyone’s guess but this is certainly NOT good for anyone at DC or Warner Brothers!
All of this is a real shame because Blue Beetle itself is actually a pretty darn good movie overall! It may not be the best superhero movie ever made nor even the best one that has come out this year but it’s still a fun and refreshing comic book movie that has plenty of action, humor, and heart at it’s center for anyone to enjoy. If that is not enough to convince you to go see it, then I have five other reasons for you to check this one out in theaters! In a summer that has been filled with financial flop after financial flop, the last thing we need is another movie to fall right into that criteria!
Because of that, instead of doing a typical review for Blue Beetle, I’m gonna provide you with five reasons why I believe the movie itself is worth your time and money! I promise there are no spoilers to be found here and only five main selling points to get you to check out the picture!
1.) It’s a standalone story!
As fun as it is to constantly have superhero films that have crossovers with all of your favorite characters, we have gotten to the point where it has become too oversaturated for those kinds of films, to the point where it no longer feels as special as it once was. It becomes even worse when adding the extra bit of fan service does a disservice to the narrative it’s based on, makes the material not be able to stand well as it’s own thing, and makes the whole thing become worse as a result!
Blue Beetle is able to avoid all of that by going back to basics with a story that feels rather self-contained and stand perfectly on it’s own two feet! There’s no forced cameos or tie-ins, no tricks to try to get you into the next wave of DC movies, and it doesn’t even bother trying to tell you what universe this film is suppose to be in. It’s #1 objective is to craft a film about it’s new Latino protagonist Jamie Reyes (played wonderfully by Xolo Mariduena btw) who just gradated out of college and looking towards the next steps of his life with his family and new life as a superhero. Sure, there are some funny references here and there of well-known DC superheroes but that’s not the point of the movie nor should it be!
It’s a great reminder as to why we gravatas towards the best superheroes in the first place and why the best origins stories are as good as they are! Like with the best of them, Blue Beetle knows to that it’s story and characters come first and universe building comes second! Some of the past DC films and even Marvel films have lost sight of that but this one certainly doesn’t and it’s all the better for it!
2.) It’s all about family!
If there’s one element that stands out as being the centerpiece of the entire film, it’s the dynamics of the Reyes family. There is very strong bond between them all and you could feel the love and support they all have for one another in every single moment that they are on screen together. It touches upon some simplistic but very topical subject matter of immigrant families, and class differences that are a good drive for the story.
The entire cast of the family fit their roles like gloves, have great chemistry with one another, and even get their own individual moments to shine. Belissa Escobedo makes for a very likeable screen presence as Jaime’s young sister, Elpidia Carrillo fits comfortably as Jaime’s mother Damian Alcazar makes for the perfect father for Jaime and has some of the film’s most emotional moments, George Lopez is funny and sometimes badass as Jaimie’s crazy uncle named Rudy, and Adriana Barraza makes for perhaps the most badass Nana that has ever existed in the history of cinema!
If you were someone that really enjoyed the family dynamics in superhero films such as Guardians of the Galaxy and Shazam!, then you will found plenty to enjoy in this movie whenever the whole family is on screen together! If Dominic Toretto were a real person, then Blue Beetle would certainly be his favorite film of 2023! The power of family, baby!
3.) The action and VFX work is strong!
What also is a refreshing change of pace from other recent superhero films is how much detail has gone into the actions scenes and the VFX work! Despite only having a budget of just over 100 million dollars, Blue Beetle is able to provide more entertaining action and more impressive visuals than the likes of Black Adam, The Flash, and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, all of which cost as least twice as much as this movie.
While not entirely an action or visual effects heavy picture, it’s able to provide enough of those when it counts the most. The fight scenes feel coherent and well put together, the Blue Beetle looks absolutely cool whenever he appears on screen, and those that were perfectly fond of the final hero vs villain showdown of say The Incredible Hulk is likely gonna have a big smile on your face during the climax of the picture! Not to mention, the opening sequence along has probably the most impressive visuals in a live-action comic book film released this year!
I’m not gonna act just like this is the best action and special effects that I’ve ever seen for a film but they worked perfectly for the movie and the budget that it was given. The action is just so much fun when it appears and will likely be on your mine even hours after the credits have rolled! It also helps to have a VFX team that was treated properly and not needlessly overworked! Take notes, Hollywood!
4.) The Latino representation is off the charts!
I know there are certain folks out there that are sick to death of the talk of representation in film and that being the main selling point for a movie but it’s done for a reason. Not just to give representation to a culture that doesn’t get as much as they should but it allows for anyone outside of that culture to gain a new inside as to how people of a certain culture or race live their lives differently from others.
Throughout the film, you gained a great inside into Latin American Culture and how they live differently compare to traditional American Culture. You also get plenty of scenes with the family talking to each other in Spanish with subtitles for anyone else to pick upon along with fun little jabs at each other and everyone else that is all played for laughs and not meant to be taken seriously. The film certainly doesn’t live and die based strictly on it’s cultural representation but it’s does feel like an added bonus to the picture and helps make it feel fresher than your average comic book flick.
If you are someone that is a part of Latin American Culture, then you will likely be greatly satisfied with what Blue Beetle has to offer, especially if the response I’ve been seeing from those folks on Twitter is any indication. Even if you are not someone that is a part of that culture, you will likely find yourself intrigue to see a totally different viewpoint and make even get you interested to learn more about Latin Americans. While there has certainly been Latin characters portrayed in superhero films recently, it’s certainly nice to have a Latin superhero appear front and center!
5.) It’s the best DC film in 2023!
I enjoy Shazam!: Fury of the Gods more than most people, despite it being an obvious step down from the first film, and found The Flash to be an ugly and unfocused CGI mess with the only saving graces being Michael Keaton’s Batman and Sasha Calle’s Supergirl. However, Blue Beetle is easily the best film that DC has released this year and even their very best one since The Batman. While lower expectations may have played a factor in that, it feels like the only film released this year to do the job it sets out to do exceptionally well.
There’s no universe baggage or sequel setup to weight the whole thing down, there’s no painfully distracting reshoots and CGI of certain characters that will take you out of the movie, and there’s no drama with any cast member making unpleasant remarks and/or doing terrible things of the camera to distract you from the picture. All we have here is a very well made and enjoyable new superhero origin tale about a cool new superhero with everyone from the cast and crew doing their jobs as well as they possibly could have.
I don’t know exactly where I would rank Blue Beetle among the other DC Extended Universe films but I can definitely see plenty of folks ranking this among the absolute best in the franchise. I imagine it’s the kind of superhero film that folks have been craving for DC for years, with them introducing a new DC character that’s not Batman or Superman while working perfectly as it’s own thing! While the jury is still out on Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (whenever that actually comes out), I don’t think it would be a controversial opinion to claim that this is easily the best live-action film from DC released this year!
In Conclusion
Blue Beetle is not a perfect film by any means. There are times to where it feels too conventional among other superhero origins stories, especially ones from the MCU, it reuses certain tropes you’ve seen before, and Victoria Kord herself is a fairly bland antagonist. However, it’s easy to overlook all of that when watching because of how much heart and passion is clearly on screen from everyone invovled with the picture!
I know this piece will likely not do much to prevent this film from underperforming in theaters, especially with the announcement of this coming to digital streaming next month (Screw you, movie studios!) but I can still try. If there is anyone out there that was on the fence of seeing Blue Beetle and you haven’t already, I sure hope I was able to persuade you to see this on the big screen while you still have the chance!
If I were to give it a rating:
Now, please go out and see Blue Beetle in theaters if you have the time and money to do so!
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