Blue Beetle

The Blue Beetle has been in comic books since 1939, and in 1983 DC Comics bought the rights to it. Still, the Blue Beetle hasn't been seen much outside of a few appearances in video games and animated shows, so film audiences are mainly going to the movies with a clean slate. Largely, Blue Beetle is a couple of hours of well-made superhero action with no big surprises.

Jaime Reyes (Xolo Maridueña) has just left school, and returns to his home on the outskirts of Palmera City. Unfortunately, the family is about to lose their home due to the increase in rent. Jaime and his sister end up working for Kord Industries as cleaners, and the Kord family pretty much owns the whole town. Through a series of coincidences, Jaime takes over Jenny Kord's (Bruna Marquezine) strange, blue beetle-looking object. For some reason, this beetle chooses Jaime, and merges with him as a kind of symbiote, like Marvel's Venom. And so the new Blue Beetle is born.

At its core, the story is a very traditional superhero story, and it also deals with the meaning of family, capitalism, selfishness and so on. A simple core allows you to focus on the characters and the relationships between them, and this is done well. A Mexican family at the centre (Reyes), and the ensuing confrontation with a completely different kind of powerful family (Kord). There are surprises in store, and Blue Beetle's grandmother Nana Reyes (Adriana Barraza) becomes very important towards the end. The bad thing is that not all the questions raised are answered. This is probably a necessary solution, as the film could have been too long and, on the other hand, there must be something to say in possible sequels.

Perhaps somewhat surprisingly, the atmosphere, both in terms of music and colour scheme, is very 1980s, with neon colours. This is perhaps a way of appealing to older viewers, while the traditional superhero genre then does the wooing of the new generation. Another surprising thing is how interesting the different characters become as the film progresses. Traditionally in superhero movies, this has not been the case, at least not for me.

As you'd expect, Blue Beetle is technically and performance-wise top of the range. It's a sight to behold. Some kind of sequel is already being considered in the short clips after the closing credits. However, Blue Beetle is obviously not achieving the level of success expected, so a sequel may never be made. This is a pity, because Blue Beetle, which was completely unknown to me, was a pleasant surprise throughout its runtime.