★★★★

starring: xolo mariduena, bruna marquezine, george lopez, and susan sarandon

​

REVIEWER: nick tonkin

An alien scarab chooses Jaime Reyes to be its symbiotic host, bestowing the recent college graduate with a suit of armor that's capable of extraordinary powers, forever changing his destiny as he becomes the superhero known as Blue Beetle.

Blue Beetle is the latest superhero movie in the DC Extended Universe series of films, and also one of the last before the reimagining of the DC film universe by the new heads of DC Studios James Gunn and Peter Safran with the upcoming 2025 film Superman: Legacy.

While this could be interpreted as an awkward place for Blue Beetle to exist in, James Gunn has indicated that Blue Beetle was part of the plans for the future of the DC Universe franchise. This is just as well, as Blue Beetle is a breath of fresh air for the DCEU. With its great characters, infectious sense of humour and a strong lead performance from Xolo Maridueña, Blue Beetle is one of the best DC movies in recent years.

Jaime Reyes (Xolo Maridueña) is a recent college graduate with big dreams for the future who runs up hard against the realities of life in the United States. With support from his family, he is able to find some work but loses it when his sense of decency overcomes pragmatism, putting him back to square one.

However, through this he is introduced to Jenny Kord (Bruna Marquesine), an activist board member of his former employer Kord Industries, and daughter of its former leader Ted Kord. Jenny entrusts him with a Big Belly Burger takeaway box and tells him to keep it safe and under no circumstances to look inside but it doesn’t take long for Jaime’s family to prod him into taking a peek. In doing so, he lays eyes on an alien artifact called the Scarab, which in turn chooses him to wield its fantastic power, and become the prime target of the powerful Kord Industries.

Blue Beetle’s heart is the brilliant family dynamic between Jaime and his family. They are a fantastically talented bunch of actors, with some good material to work with, which gives the film a unique element in the long line of superhero movies that Blue Beetle joins. The movie is just so funny! George Lopez as Rudy, Jaime’s anti-fascist, conspiratorially minded uncle is full of hilarious moments; Adriana Barraza as Jaime’s Nana is the family’s secret weapon: the wise, funny and kinda dangerous family matriarch. Xolo Maridueña brings much to the role of Jaime: earnestness, humility and humour to start, making his presence a key success of the film, which is why it is so heartening that it seems this version of Blue Beetle will continue in the DCEU under James Gunn and Peter Safran’s watch as the new DC Studios heads.

​

Blue Beetle is a fantastic introduction to the character and concept of Blue Beetle, with a great sense of humour and a brilliantly compelling family dynamic at its heart, Blue Beetle is one of the best DC movies in years.

★★★★