Blue Beetle is a glimmer of hope for the stumbling DC universe, a fun and lighthearted superhero that deals with smaller obstacles, perfect for the debut of a new hero.
Blue Beetle tells the story of Jaime Reyes, an immigrant college graduate who inadvertently becomes the host to an alien artefact known as the Scarab.
The Scarab gives Jaime a suit of armour and unpredictable powers which he must use to save himself and his family from the villainous Kord Industries.
And that’s about it.
There’s no world ending threat, no multiverse travelling, no larger-than-life aliens to defeat.
Blue Beetle is a story that’s small on purpose, and at a time when larger audiences are experiencing superhero fatigue, that gives it so much charm.
Xolo Maridueña, who previously acted in the Cobra Kai series, portrays Jaime with a certain innocence that’s perfect for the character.
Acting heavyweight Susan Sarandon plays Victoria Kord, the big bad of the film. But her portrayal often feels clichéd, like she took the evil mastermind tropes from all of the Iron Man movies and mixed them all together.
The rest of the cast do a commendable job in this movie, but the standout is George Lopez who plays Jaime’s uncle Rudy Reyes. Lopez brings some much needed comedy and zany-ness to this script.
The action in the movie can feel a little muddy, especially the CGI aerial combat scenes, but the scenes where Jaime is learning how to use the Scarab in the first place is a true joy to watch. The muddy-ness in those scenes play in favour of the confusion and fear that Jaime and the audience feels in that scene.
The hand-to-hand combat scenes are also great to watch, with Maridueña’s previous martial arts experience coming into full display there.
Some of the dialogues do get drowned out by the background noise during the movie, but it doesn’t take anything away from the overall experience.
All things considered, if the DC universe can keep this momentum going, then we can expect a lot more enjoyable movies from the comic book studio.
Verdict: Perfect weekend viewing at the theatre: fun and not too serious.
– Deviprasad Nair
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