The “Blue Beetle” movie is superb-ly mid. Released on August 18, 2023, it begins as an action-packed film focused on the origin story of a superhero that received underwhelming performance in the box office.
Since 1939, the character has been reintroduced with different aliases in the comics such as Dan Garret and now, Jaime Reyes. At this point in the DC movie history, they are portraying characters in an inclusive way with focus on the latino community in Palmera City, a fictional location based on Miami with sci-fi aesthetics filmed in diversified cities such as El Paso, Texas; Los Angeles, California; and San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Jaime Reyes, played by Xolo Maridueña, experiences job complications which leads him to meeting the Kord family that is involved in dirty business. One of which is their possession of the ‘blue beetle’, a powerful amulet used as an energy source to build military bots.
Jenny Kord, the family’s daughter played by Bruna Marquezine, had altruistic plans for the company’s future rather than their evil ideas so she stole the beetle and handed it off to Jaime on his way to an interview with her. From this point onward, Jaime and Jenny(the daughter) fight back the family from retrieving their amulet back, however, the tide swayed their side with unforeseen blue beetle powers.
Coming into this movie, no supernatural experiences were expected. The plot was inconsistent with events that did not contribute to the resolution and considering no sequel was intended, the inconsistent tense made entirely no sense. Yet, a few aspects stood out as the blue beetle suit was visually appealing and there was a heartwarming sentiment amongst the Reyes family.
Regardless of positives, at multiple points in the movie, the scenes were so dull I found myself passing out from lack of visual stimulation. Graphics were certainly attempted to be captivating but it missed its mark by a long shot.
Another disturbing feature was the unnatural romanticism built-up along the story. Many stereotypical hero movies have the protagonist effortlessly attracting a romantic partner. In this case, the trend seemed to continue with Jaime and Jenny. Scenes were tense, ultimately too awkward, making it unbearable to sit through.
For a D.C. comics inspired movie, its execution was sub par. On the positive side, it did include a less marginalized group of film workers. Nevertheless, I find myself with a negative analysis due to the fact where several pointless plot points, awkward scenes between characters, and unenthusiastic action depictions were instituted.
