‘Blue Beetle’ movie review: A hearty caper that flies above formulaic narrative and superhero fatigue

A still from ‘Blue Beetle’
| Photo Credit: Warner Bros.

Yet another superhero film, yet another comic-book character introduced to the big screen, and a DC film sandwiched between a dead cinematic universe and a revamped one. So, should you care? Yes, because this is Blue Beetle, a fan-favourite, DC’s first Latino superhero, the first character in James Gunn-led DCU, and he is introduced in style through a film that unfairly needs to win over the superhero fatigue that has set upon us. And despite its shortcomings, Blue Beetle does fly high.

After finishing graduation, Jaime Reyes (Xolo Maridueña) returns back to see his family struggling financially and the news that his dad had suffered and recovered from a heart attack. Jaime, along with his sister Milagro (Belissa Escobedo), gets a job at the house of Kord Industries CEO Victoria Kord (Susan Sarandon), where Jaime chances upon the latter’s gorgeous niece Jenny Kord (Bruna Marquezine).

Jenny is dead against her aunt tarnishing the legacy of her late father Ted Kord by harnessing an alien scarab to create an army of cyborg supersoldiers called OMACs, but there’s little Jenny can do against Vicky and her OMAC bodyguard Ignacio Carapax (Raoul Max Trujillo). Eventually, Vicky steals the Blue Beetle Scarab, seeks help from Jaime to smuggle it out of the Kord Headquarters, and…. as anyone would expect, the dormant Scarab awakens suddenly and chooses the poor teen as its host. A fun, colourful and wholesome ride begins.

From afar, Blue Beetle might seem just like DC’s version of Marvel’s Miles Morales Spiderman meeting Venom. But in how many superhero live-action films have you seen the superhero-getting-his-superpower scene unfold at a dining table in front of a chaotic but lovable family? The scene is staged and shot superbly; you see concern from Jaime’s parents (Damián Alcázar and Elpidia Carrillo), curiosity from Milagro, and Uncle Rudy (George Lopez) and Nana (Adriana Barraza) add some scene-stealing comedy. This is a truly interesting twist to the 2006’s ‘Blue Beetle #1’ comic where the Scarab activates when Jaime is attacked by bullies before a suit-up at the family dinner table. Another conscious decision is in shying away from the done-to-dust teen troubles of its protagonist trope.

Blue Beetle also strikes an impressive home run against the challenge of writing a striking emotional arc for a newbie character — the film does away with the ‘Blue Beetle #0 New 52’ introduction to the alien species Reach (and Khaji Da, the scarab), and instead uses all the time to set up the human characters. At the core of it, the film is about a family that looks after one another — you might wish to be a part of their group hug — but more memorable is how it writes an empathetic story for these BIPOC characters.

This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows, from left, Belissa Escobedo, Adriana Barraza, Bruna Marquezine, Elipida Carrillo and George Lopez in a scene from ‘Blue Beetle’
| Photo Credit:
Hopper Stone

At the heart of the film is a struggling Latino family, two of whom have no legal documents, and this theme is woven centrally into the narrative. Whether it’s a tone-deaf racist Vicky referring to someone with a stereotypical name based on their race, or the way Carapax’s character arc is fleshed out, the film highlights the vulnerability of immigrants who are preyed upon by oppressors for their own benefits; much like what happens to the Scarab itself. No wonder it chose Jaime as its host.

The symbiotic relationship between the host and the Scarab writes itself, and it’s fascinating to see how they learn from each other even their moral compasses and justifications. In one of the most heartening moments in the film, a villain is humanised as an anti-hero. As a side note, Blue Beetle also champions the ‘no killing’ policy much better than most of the live-action films of the Justice League members.

All that said, Blue Beetle sometimes seems like a cardboard specimen of an utterly predictable superhero film; you see the plot markers from miles away. What makes it entertaining despite the predictability is how it organically builds up situations and executes even old-school tropes perfectly. The film serves no justice to the cool character design as much of the action sequences pull the punch before it lands; a fight set in a tunnel had scope to match Daredevil’s hallway fight but gets tapered into the ordinary. On the flip side, the judicious use of the superhero’s weapon and restraint in writing more action sequences only debunks many of the genre’s writing myths.

There’s a lot to look forward to in the world of Blue Beetle, such as Ted Kord’s fate, or wonder if a sequel will introduce Lady Styx as a new DCU villain. For now, we have a cool new superhero with crackling supporting characters, a grandma wielding a machine gun, a Bug plane that can share pride of place with Batfleck’s Batwing/Batmobile, and lots of fun.

Blue Beetle is currently running in theatres