Blue Beetle is a new DC superhero movie that puts family front and center. This story follows recent college grad, Jaime Reyez, and his family after Jaime is accidentally fused with The Scarab, a highly advanced alien tech, which Victoria Kord, current CEO of Kord Industries, needs to complete her latest line of private security innovations, and would do anything to get her hands on it. It’s up to Jaime, with the help of his family and Jennifer Kord, to make it out of this situation together.
This movie incorporates the narrative of an immigrant family trying to live their lives while rich white people take what little they have to satisfy their never-ending greed into every fiber of the story. From Kord Industries trying to gentrify the area that the Reyes’ live in, to Victoria Kord taking advantage of Jaime’s bond with the Scarab to complete her technology, threatening his life in the process. You can even see this narrative throughline in Carapax’s backstory.
I thoroughly enjoyed watching this movie, however, if you come into this expecting another “point superhero at problem and fix it” plot, you will be sorely mistaken. This story’s focus lies with Jaime and his family weathering a difficult situation together and they are the real focal point of the film despite the chaos around them. Focus on family may be the theme but it’s also how I recommend you watch this movie.
The relationships among the family felt very real throughout the movie, and the way their bond strengthened them and made them better was well developed throughout the film. This was due, in no small part, to the incredible acting of all involved in the movie. The humor was on point throughout the film and earned chuckles from the audience on more than one occasion. However, my only complaint is that the dialogue could at times fall rather flat.
The acting was very well done by each and every person on that screen. Each actor made every moment count and every emotion hit. And of course, George Lopez rocked the role of the funny uncle. The movie was also very well made overall; the special effects, both digital and practical, were captivating.
This movie does well to show the character of Jaime and our main cast as well as the status quo going forward. It also sets up future appearances for Jaime very well and has a rich canon to pull from. Blue Beetle is a solid origin movie, very well made and clearly well-loved by those involved in making it.
This movie is definitely worth a watch on the big screen and I look forward to more appearances from the Blue Beetle in future DCU movies or, fingers crossed, in a Blue Beetle 2.
