Blue Beetle
DC Comics proudly presents its first Latino superhero, a good-looking dude with a scarab look.
Blue is the coolest colour: Xolo Maridueña in costume
Like Spider-Man and Shazam before him, the Blue Beetle never intended to be a superhero. Jaime Reyes (Xolo Maridueña) has just acquired his law degree from Gotham and returned home to his beloved parents, sister, grandmother and uncle in Palmera City, Texas. It’s a real family unit, although times have proved tough in Jaime’s absence. The Reyes are about to lose their home and Jaime’s father, Alberto (Damián Alcázar), has suffered a heart attack. So, as money is scarce, Jaime joins his sister working at a luxurious mansion owned by the power-hungry Victoria Kord (Susan Sarandon). But when he intercepts an argument between Victoria and her niece Jenny Kord (Bruna Marquezine), he and his sister are fired, although Jenny offers him a new position the following day. And thereby hangs a tale, as Jaime turns out to be in the right place at the wrong time and becomes a scapegoat involving a phenomenally precious piece of futuristic, extraterrestrial tech that turns him into a kind of cobalt Iron Man…
Attempting to do for the Tex-Mex community what Black Panther did for Africa, Blue Beetle starts with enormous promise and, indeed, flavour. As Jaime-cum-the Beetle, Xolo Maridueña makes an attractive leading man, part catwalk model, part goofball. He does it well. As for the other members of Jaime’s family, they are well represented by Adriana Barraza, Damián Alcázar, Elpidia Carrillo, George Lopez and Belissa Escobedo, ripe for their own sitcom. But then, no sooner does the Beetle begin to adapt to his superpowers, than the movie reverts to the crash-bang-wallop of the DC comic template. And it’s extremely loud. And violent. And possibly the first instalment of a trilogy. While straining to inject a freshness into a generic model, Blue Beetle proves no more exciting than seeing different players act out a familiar game of charades. Like so many of the superhero films before it, it is actually quite exhausting to behold as any inventive Mexican zest is quickly burned off by the rollcall of massive explosions. One can but hope that the Oscar-winning actress Susan Sarandon was really, really well paid.
JAMES CAMERON-WILSON
Cast: Xolo Maridueña, Adriana Barraza, Damián Alcázar, Elpidia Carrillo, Bruna Marquezine, Raoul Max Trujillo, Susan Sarandon, George Lopez, Belissa Escobedo, Harvey Guillén.
Dir Ángel Manuel Soto, Pro John Rickard and Zev Foreman, Screenplay Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer, Ph Pawel Pogorzelski, Pro Des Jon Billington, Ed Craig Alpert, Music Bobby Krlic, Costumes Mayes C. Rubeo, Sound William Files, Lee Gilmore and Chris Terhune.
DC Studios/The Safran Company-Warner Bros.
127 mins. USA/Mexico. 2023. UK and US Rel: 18 August 2023. Cert. 12A.
