Blue Beetle: A Great Origin Story
- 29/09/2023
Blue Beetle is a fun and action packed movie with a similar tone to the new DC live-action projects like Peacemaker and The Flash. It embraces humor and gritty action. It's a straight forward adventure that frees the audience from the challenge of answering: “Where does this fit in the multiverse?”. It's not connected to any other DC movies. And the only Justice League you will see is Blue Beetle's family.
lue Beetle is a superhero origin story directed by Ángel Manuel Soto, set in the fictional Palmera City. Jaime (played by Xolo Maridueña), works for a rich Kardashian-type woman, Victoria Kord (played by Susan Sarandon). She is trying to make super soldiers by unlocking an alien artifact that looks like a beetle.
Her niece, Jenny Kord (Bruna Marquezine), steals that artifact and gives it to Jaime for safe keeping. But the blue beetle crawled up Jamies’… spine and they are symbiotically entangled. Now Jaime’s entire family is in danger because Victoria wants the beetle back.
Jaime’s family is his Justice League. The entire plot of the movie revolves around family and this is the heart of the movie that brings a lot of lovable and very sad moments.
There’s an evil aunt that hates her niece. A villain who’s mantra is “Love for your family makes you weak”. And a protagonist with a healthy family life that wants to prove him wrong.
The violence and maturity of the movie sometimes spikes trough the roof. But it never goes full Suicide Squad and most action sequences are pretty tame but the movie does have a giant beetle stabbing a soldier in the chest and lifting him up in the air.
Blue Beetle has a Spider-Man Homecoming vibe to it. Both in the witty and awkward humor and because the costume is similar to the Iron Spider costume. The one with extra legs that extend from the back.
Regarding the plot, the third act was a little predictable. I found myself successfully guessing lines before they were said on screen. But as an origin story, the movie is sufficient. Many origin stories are predictable. The interesting part is usually the beginning and middle parts of the movie that show the challenges of getting the new powers.
James Gunn who is working on a reboot of the entire DC universe said that Blue Beetle is the first character in the new DCU. So, hopefully it’s this specific Beetle and not the character in general. The movie is a solid origin story with a well picked cast that brings a lot of heart.
If you also enjoyed Blue Beetle, I would further recommend watching: Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), Stargirl (2020), The Suicide Squad (2021), Peacemaker (2022), The Flash (2023).
