Blue Beetle Review – Kamen Rider DC Style
Here’s my Blue Beetle review which is now showing in theaters from Warner Bros Pictures and stars Xolo Mariduena as Jaime Reyes aka the titular Blue Beetle and Bruna Marquezine featuring the voice of Inka Magnaye based on DC Comics’ character. The film is directed by Angel Manuel Soto and written by Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer.
As we continue to transition to the whole James Gunn and Peter Safran’s DCU movie verse (departing from the Zack Snyder’s DCEU) we get their first official superhero movie in the form of the Blue Beetle and right off the bat, I enjoyed it.
So to summarize the plot in a non-spoilery way, Jaime Reyes gets his hands on the legendary “scarab” which grants him incredible powers as well as the ability to turn parts of his body into a weapon. This does not sit well with Kord Industries’ CEO Victoria Kord (Susan Sarandon) who plans to use the data from the scarab to power up and build new weapons called OMAC or One Man Army Corp. So Jaime together with his family help out Jennie Kord (Bruna Marquezine) to stop Victoria and her henchman Carapax (Raoul Max Trujillo). Along the way, Jaime learns the value of being a hero and about family as he embraces the heroic legacy of being the new Blue Beetle.
Action
Action wise, I’m satisfied. It gave enough screentime for the CG Blue Beetle suit, the unmasked version and just plain old Xolo as Jaime Reyes. The fights and action scenes are also well written to showcase what we can expect to see from this new superhero for the DCU. If DC really wants to push the character to the moon and back they are certainly doing it in the right direction. There’s that climatic scene towards the end of the film where BB goes up against a powered up Carapax and we see him use his size to his advantage. It’s not always going to be a one-on-one match too which made perfect sense. It does give off some serious Iron Man vibes with a mirror match at the end but its pretty good nonetheless.
Cast
Xolo Mariduena as Jaime Reyes is a perfect casting. The Cobra Kai star has grown up and looks like a superhero. His comedic timing’s still a little out of there but its all good. I think one of the stronger bits really was the casting. Not only do we have a handful of characters to cover and develop, they can also be considered as one character; I mean the entire Reyes clan can be considered as one breathing living character too. Rudy played by George Lopez was really the standout guy for me dishing out some well meaning dialogues and even delivering the infamous “Batman is a Fascist” line. Belissa Escobedo and Adriana Barraza have their moments too with the latter providing a surprising and funny twist when we reach the third act. The more gentle and sensitive segments are delivered well by Damián Alcázar and Elpidia Carrillo; both also carry the emotional moments for the film.
Meanwhile Susan Sarandon as Victoria Kord was pretty generic while Carapax could have been polished a little more.
References
There’s a lot of direct references to other DC heroes that are already existing in the timeframe including Superman and Batman, whom Rudy refers to as a fascist. I feel like we needed more references and teases to the former Blue Beetle before Jaime aka Ted Kord aside from the tech and the cuddly and scary Bug.
They even have that line that goes down the hatch that really makes comic book fans long to see Ted Kord.
Themes
There could have been like a dozen or so themes to use in the film but I’m glad they chose to work with the theme of family for this one. There’s the problems that a family face, the problematic family members, money problems and even in the case of Jennie Kord, the longing for a family. Something that gets resolved by the end of the movie. The whole thing about having your destiny or what you’re meant to be in this world aka existentialism is also tackled lightly here in the movie. But honestly, this movie looks and feels like a US version of any Kamen Rider season. It definitely checks all the boxes:
- Young man finds a special item that makes him transform into something cool
- Bug themed alter ego
- Evil corporation out to retake the missing special item
- Beautiful female lead that has ties to the corporation
- Rival bad guy who also has an evil looking version of the same battle armor
- Foolish rich head that thinks he/she can take over the world (OR) be rich and powerful
- Final battle where the hero makes a big realization and spares the bad guy
Overall, I liked Blue Beetle. It’s an enjoyable superhero film that’s got gumption and heart and the cast did an excellent job of delivering a great family story. It’s filled with laughs and surprisingly some emotional depth as well. If this is the new direction for the DCU under Gunn and Safran’s control then there’s no way to go but up (up and away).
Special thanks to Warner Bros Pictures and SM Cinema!
