Loaded with humor, action and the power of family at its heart, BLUE BEETLE is a truly enjoyable DC film.
And anyone that reads my reviews knows that from my seat in the theater, DC and enjoyable are two words rarely featured in the same sentence.
I'm nearing superhero movie burnout, groaning every time I see the preview for "The Marvels" and not even bothering to watch "The Eternals".
This one snuck up on me.
The film opens at one of those impossibly remote locations where someone usually discovers something buried in ice or a nefarious research group is up to something.
What sets this one apart is the presence of Susan Sarandon as Victoria Kord. She's a blast as a very wealthy woman in charge of a mega-global company that's getting into the futuristic arms race in a clever way.
We then meet young Jamie Reyes, played by the incredibly likeable Xolo Mariduena (Cobra Kai) in a star-making performance. He's just out of college and heading home to Palmera City, a fascinating town caught somewhere between the old-school influences of Miami and the modern tech of Shanghai.
Jamie's family is at the airport to meet him, and they're an enjoyable, perfectly cast group. Damian Alcazar (Narcos) is his father, Alberto. Elpido Carrillo (Predator) is his mother Rocio, and Belissa Escobedo (Hocus Pocus 2) is hilarious as his sister, Milagro.
Stealing the show are George Lopez as his anti-capitalist, conspiracy theory loving Uncle Rudy and Adriana Barraza (Babel) as his Nana. Lopez is laugh-out-loud funny, dropping every punch line and physical joke to perfection. Barraza is an absolute surprise as an Abuela that's got more than a few surprises up her sleeve.
Jamie meets Victoria Kord's niece Jenny by chance and she offers to give him a job the next day. When Jamie meets her at the towering Kord skyscraper, she hands him a box and tells him NOT top open it, whatever he does.
Of course, an hour later, the entire Reyes clan is chanting "Open it! Open it!" and he does, unveiling a metallic scarab that attaches itself to him, turning him into an Ironman-like war machine capable of manifesting any weapons Jamie can think of in his brain.
He'l need them against Raoul Max Trujillo (Apocalypto) as Carapax, the only other Blue Beetle prototype playing for the dark side.
The film navigates a very tricky line in several ways.
It's basically a family film, but with a bit more profanity and adult humor than typical for this type of PG-13 film. It's never off putting, but pushes the envelope.
It also sets up a family of authentic, unique people in the Reyes family and then introduces death and some very nasty people on the Kord payroll that will do anything to get the scarab back from Jamie and Jenny. Jenny (the stunning Bruna Marquezine) and Jamie make a great team.
The film manages to introduce plenty of themes about immigrants, the love of family, corporate greed and loyalty without ever getting within a mile of preachy or "woke" territory.
Director Angel Manuel Soto brings out the absolute best in every actor, there's not a false performance in the bunch.
Enhanced by its Latino flavor, Mariduena's screen presence and Lopez's hilarious delivery, BLUE BEETLE gets a surprising B. Just like the scarab, this one got under my skin and delivered plenty of action, laughs and heart in perfect doses.
DC Studios CEO James Gunn has said that he intends to incorporate Blue Beetle into his upcoming rebooted DC Universe, with Xolo coming back in the role.
A good choice from the new DC Big Boss.
Watch for 1 fun end credits sequence at the end of the movie.
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