‘Blue Beetle’: Review

Dir. Angel Manuel Soto. US. 2023. 127mins

Just when you thought super-films couldn’t get any more mechanical comes Blue Beetle, the story of ‘ancient alien biotechnology’ which turns out to have heart, soul, and some serious politics. Following in the footsteps of Roberto Rodriguez’sSpy Kids franchise, this DC adaptation is set firmly within Latino culture where it finds love, laughter and disenfranchisement alongside an ancient scarab which takes over the body of charismatic Jaime Reyes (Xolo Mariduena).

 Turns out to have heart, soul, and some serious politics

Originally conceived as a streaming prospect, the late-life elevation ofBlue Beetle to its global August 18 theatrical release should pay dividends for Warner Brothers as the summer plays out, particularly across the Americas. With comic book adaptations on the wane of late, this won’t break any records – but it will find its niche, despite a lack of name actors, the use of Spanish-language dialogue in a way that requires subtitles and overt references to the struggle of Latin migrants in the US. It’s aimed squarely at young audiences – the hero refuses to use his powers to kill – but parents won’t mind tagging along to this charmingly low-fi experience.

To wit, Susan Sarandon plays a villain without any bigger powers than greed and deep pockets, fuelled by rage at her sexist late father who left the Kord Empire to her mysteriously disappeared brother. It’s a deep anger indeed: enough to launch an army of robocops on Palmera City, but for director Angel Manuel Soto and writer Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer that’s all secondary to the hard-working migrant family at the heart of their film. Squeezed by greedy landlords and corrupt law enforcement in Palmera – a brightly-coloured futuristic version of El Paso – the loving Reyes clan are unusual protagonists for a super hero film in that they can’t call the the cops for help because they’re illegal immigrants.

We first meet bright 22 year-old Jaime (often insultingly referred to as Jamie) as he returns to Palmera City with his expensive pre-law degree only to discover that his beloved family have fallen into debt in his absence. His dad has had a heart attack, his home is being repossessed, and the best job he can manage is as a pool boy with his spiky sister Milagro (Melissa Escuebedo). Even that doesn’t last, when he is fired for trying to defend Jenny Ford (Bruna Marquezine) from her evil aunt Victoria (Sarandon) and strange bionic henchman Carapax (Raul Max Trujillo).

This is a city where all the immigrant has is family, and the bond between the Reyes clan is repeatedly stressed – mum, dad, sister, paranoid uncle Rudy (a scene stealing George Lopez) and dear old nana (Adriana Barraza), whose past as a revolutionary in Latin America will come in helpful. The screenplay is pretty clear on the fact that they are marginalised, while giving them an entire culture to riff on (there’s more than one joke about Mexican telenovela Maria de la Barrio). The bright rainbow colours of Palmera City may not be for them, but they have each other.

Until, that is, Jaime brings that stolen scarab beetle back home at the behest of Jenny. As it comes to life, Uncle Rudy jokes that it’s a tamagotchi, but this face-sucker has chosen Jaime as its host. As it buries itself into Jaime’s DNA, taking him on an involuntary tour of the City in which he tears a bus in half — and even launches himself out to space — the joke is that Jaime isn’t in control of either his body or his sudden superpowers. And it’s always a Bruce Banner moment when he comes back, naked, to reality. His outright refusal to kill Carapax at an early point in the film is going to come back to haunt him later, but Jaime remains true to himself – with all the charm of a young Tom Holland in a much less expensive production.

Clearly, Sarandon’s Victoria Kord is going to come after Jaime and, as the whole production swerves onto a fortress of an island (allegedly given to the Kords by Cuba’s Bautista in the 1950s), it’s comes as no surprise to see that her lair is pretty bare-budget soundstage. But the production doesn’t skimp when it comes to the brawls between Jaime’s Beetle and Carapax, which are lively, exciting and, most importantly, don’t forget the human stakes or the humanity behind the masks. This isn’t one of these grim lumbering juggernauts where a machine goes after another CGI machine. Even Carapax has his own history at the hands of the gringa, and it isn’t pretty.

There is a big effort put into the world building, which pays off. It is not clear whether that is because sequels are planned or whether, because the production was originally intended for streaming, it was felt that more time could be spared between set pieces to form a truly Latin society in which this story could play out. It’s certainly set up for further iterations, even as it doesn’t shy away from casualties amongst the main cast. Either way, when Jaime is told ‘one day we’re going to have to talk about nana’s revolutionary past’ you can’t help but feel that’s a ride you’d like to be on – and preferably on the big screen again.