Warning: The following provides spoilers for “Blue Beetle” and the DC Universe
The release of “Blue Beetle” occurred on Aug 18, 2023. It follows Jaime Reyes, a child of Mexican immigrants and a recent Gotham Law graduate. For those unfamiliar with Blue Beetle, the secret identity of Blue Beetle is either Jaime Reyes or Ted Kord (the original Blue Beetle was Dan Garret but he is irrelevant). “Blue Beetle” first graced media in 1939, but the Jaime Reyes rendition of “Blue Beetle”, my favorite and the most superior version, did not debut until 2006. Jaime Reyes is a teenager, usually, who gets bonded by a scarab (a piece of alien technology) that attaches itself to Jaime’s body, and soon the pair form a symbiotic relationship. The scarab becomes a part of Jaime’s body and cannot detach from him until the scarab’s host dies. The scarab is sentient and is voiced by a man, except in this movie, they changed the scarab to be a woman. The scarab can cover Jaime’s body in armor (his Blue Beetle suit), give him weapons and other high-tech gear to use and act as a voice inside Jaime’s head that can even take over Jaime if necessary.
As a lover of comic books and all things superheroes, I loved this movie so much. Xolo Mariduena was an excellent Jaime who perfectly embodied the character. I am used to seeing Jaime as a high schooler and not a college graduate, but despite that main discrepancy, he played Jaime very well. All the acting was mostly well done. Some of the drier characters are the result of poor writing in some parts or even because characters were supposed to be like that. The main antagonist in the film was Victoria Kord (note her last name), who was searching for the scarab to make super soldiers. In her quest for the scarab, she hired Conrad Carapax, the result of many of her botched super soldier experiments, as her enforcer. He had a redemption arc, but overall, his character was dry and lacked development until the end, when they needed to wrap up the movie. There was no characterization of him until the movie’s end so it was very last minute. He was a good character but mainly two-dimensional, so I would have liked to see characterization start in the middle of the movie so it would happen more naturally. Carapax ended up being the hero at the end, which was a wonderful but also rushed decision as there was not as much build-up.
What I loved the most about the movie was that Jaime had to work to get along with the scarab and therefore control his new abilities. In movies, superheroes frequently will figure out their powers right away or during a quick thirty-second montage. However, Jaime and the scarab’s relationship was shown throughout the movie as he constantly has to figure out how to utilize his new abilities. The movie realistically shows what it would be like for someone to gain superhuman abilities suddenly. He is learning about his powers as the audience, which is a nice screen–to-viewer connection, unlike the Superman movies or even in the pre-Tom Holland Spider-Man movies.
The movie’s most important part, and the core value, is family. Jaime decided against returning to school to work in his hometown in Florida to support his family, who were having trouble with money. His family are his most prominent throughout the film and are the film’s heart. Jaime’s father and mother were great characters who loved their kids. However, some of the other members of the family played more of a comic relief role. I did not think a lot of the sister’s jokes landed, but the actress did her job and was phenomenal in some of the more emotional scenes in the movie. Jaime’s uncle, Rudy Reyes, was played by George Lopez,an eccentric conspiracy theorist who believes the government is watching them. Rudy is also an engineer who played a pivotal role at some moments by using some of his technology or figuring out how to utilize other technology that others could not figure out. Rudy is the funniest person in the movie, but despite being funny, Rudy is also used to highlight the struggles that Mexican immigrants in the U.S. have to go through.
“People think crossing the border is hard. You know what’s hard? The next 20 years,” said George Lopez as Rudy Reyes in the film.
This film acts as a commentary on the lack of opportunities and economic disparity through the fact that when Jaime seeks out a job to help his family, he gets rejected from most jobs despite his degree and has to work at a mansion as one of the help.
The most badass character in the entire movie was Jaime Reyes’ grandma. Nana Reyes was the definition of iconic. She was a sweet little old lady who would make hilarious jokes occasionally , then turned into a gun-wielding former revolutionist-type character. Nana Reyes was hilarious and stole the show from the other side characters multiple times.
The film’s ending made sense, but the finale left a lot to be desired in terms of what was next in Jaime and his family’s future which makes me excited for a possible addition to the “Blue Beetle” universe. Jaime’s love interest was also a key side character, Jenny Kord (the niece of Victoria Kord), and was one that gave Jaime the scarab. The end revealed that Jenny’s father was alive, so it set up a sequel that I hope is in the works because this movie was incredible despite its flaws (most notably the overly pushed romantic relationship).
The romantic relationship between Jaime and Jenny seemed forced and weird. It was rushed and did not really make sense beyond physical attraction. The characters themselves seemed like they would not go together. It feels like the writers threw in a love story just so they could have a love story, which is a common trope, yet I would rather the main focus of the film be on family and how family makes Jaime strong.
Overall, the movie was really great, like the soundtrack. I was vibing with the instrumental the whole time. The music perfectly fits the scenes and is beautifully composed. I am a stickler about fight scene music, but was impressed.
The movie was a great introduction to Jaime Reyes and was spectacular because of the jerking emotion the movie makes you feel for the Reyes family. It was a magnificent debut for what comes next to DC, especially since the hiring of its new creative director, James Gunn.
