Blue Beetle – Review

DC has been struggling quite a bit in their superhero movies. Some of this has been growing pains, some has been some subpar offerings, and some is superhero fatigue. Even the mighty Marvel has been struggling lately.

I am partial to DC in general and so I have been hoping that they would be getting a big hit. While I don’t know that Blue Beetle will be that hit, it is definitely a great movie.

Blue Beetle is not the most well known character. In fact, Blue Beetle did not even begin with DC but was a character from Charlton Comics, which was bought by DC.

There have been three characters named Blue Beetle, and the focus of this movie is on the third one (although the other two are also mentioned).

This movie does rely on some superhero tropes. A young person who is not looking to be super, has something thrust upon them (in this case alien technology), they fight their role and just want to be normal, and then eventually embrace their destiny.

Tropes aren’t bad, as comics are completely built on a few well worn themes. In fact one of the characters mentions in the movie that they are not surprised that Ted Kord was the second Blue Beetle as he fits the stereotype.

Although Ted Kord’s influence is felt in the background, this movie is about Jaime Reyes. Jaime comes from a poor hispanic family that has sacrificed to send him to college. Unfortunately, a degree does not result in immediate prosperity, and Jaime faces the challenges that go with being hispanic in the United States.

The first part of the movie is about developing the characters of the family members, as this movie is completely about family. In fact, every major character in this movie, good and evil, is wrestling with their feelings about family.

Jaime’s family is central to the movie and gives similar vibes to the first Shazam movie, although it is done much better here. When my daughter and I discussed our favourite characters from the movie, they were all from Jaime’s family.

But this is not just a family drama, it is a superhero movie. How Jaime receives the alien tech is not all that original (except perhaps the point of entry). At this point, we find the movie drawing on the best of both Iron Man and Spider-Man, as this young man gets to know something about the armour that is attached to his body.

Again, not surprisingly, someone wants the technology back and they will do whatever that is needed to make that happen. It is an all too common theme but the family dynamic breathes fresh air into a familiar concept.

This movie is funny but not the way many recent superhero movies are lately. Too often these movies try too hard and go for cheap laughs or slap stick humour. Blue Beetle is funny in a very natural way and the humour appears at the right time and is never a distraction.

But this is not just a comedy. There are some very emotional moments and the movie tugs at our heart strings numerous times. We care about these characters and we feel with them.

The action scenes are fun and well done. Because Blue Beetle has a wide range of weapons (basically anything he can imagine), there is plenty of variety. But the movie is not about mindless violence, it is about people trying to do what they think is right.

I grew up with the Ted Kord version of Blue Beetle, and although he doesn’t appear physically, his presence is felt. We see his bug ship and some of his gadgets. One of the things that I appreciated is that what we saw rings true to what we know of Ted in the comics.

We are at a crossroads when it comes to DC movies. The DC Universe was rebooted with the Flash movie. It is uncertain whet this means for those movies that appear after Flash but before the new chapter of God’s and Monsters that brings in the new universe.

I hope that Blue Beetle has a place in the new DC Universe. And not a new, rebooted Blue Beetle, but Jaime and his family from this movie. Even if the movie is not a huge hit, it is such a well done movie that it deserves more screen time.

I found Blue Beetle to be one of the best superhero movies that I have seen in a long time. To me it checked off all the right boxes. I loved it and I hope to see these characters again.