Blue Beetle 2023

I’m gonna go against the grain and say I genuinely enjoyed every minute of this film even though I was tired, though deliberately not getting too drunk with friends. I didn’t mind the Mexican representation, as a Filipina, our cousins are awesome! Even though the tropes appeared to be from other films, I really enjoyed them and I interpret them as inspirations! Shoutout George Lopez, haven’t laughed at or with him since Sharkboy and Lavagirl! Perfect emotional rollercoaster, from the [spoiler] trippy and very solemn moment when his dad sadly dies, almost made me shed a tear as I really relate recently to my family friend “uncle’s” funeral, mood [/spoiler] to the various laughes and Mexican moments like Jaime [spoiler] stealing the blue beetle [/spoiler] in the first place to Rudy (George Lopez!) saying [/spoiler] he doesn’t like the word “alien” referring to said superpower device cause of border politics haha! [/spoiler]. Only complaint is it’s a bit too long at 2 hours and kinda made my gringo friends bored haha, but they’re my drinking and movie buddies and love them to bits! Can’t wait to re-explore the DC Extended Universe, I really miss Arrow!
Score: 11/10, wish I could give it 100/10! Or at least turn this into a TV series! C’mon man! C’mon DC!

Shoutout Nana! (paraphrasing) [spoiler] fucking imperialistas! [/spoiler]

Take a lot of Ironman.. add a dash of spiderman let them rent batmans batcave and throw in a lot of Cookie Cutter scenes from marvel and drown it all in Tequilaand thats "BlueBeetle" .. ok first i dont know why the Movie Art has a 80s feel. when nothing in the movie says 80s accept playing motley crue towards the end. but anyway .. is this a bad movie? no not as bad as people say.. theres a lot of bad unbelivable dialogue and interactions. and honestly Susan Sarandon is wasted in this role. though i have stopped blaming actors and actressess for bad performances on screen. because theres a number of people who just go yup thats what we want. first off Auditions? really this person was the best for the job. then on set the director has final say on the day that yes that performance was what i want.. so yeah. the blame for bad acted movies lay there in my opinion. .. CGI is decent enough. but the beetle "suit" is a bit too ironman .. but on the whole. i cant trash the movie cause it did make me smile and did make me cry (though i do that at the drop of a hat these days) and it entertained me for the time it was on. not the worsed thing i have seen of late.

'Blue Beetle' won me over in the end.

I wasn't personally convinced by it for large periods, not that I was finding it anything boring, irritating or anything close to that but I just wasn't really feeling the vibe. However, across the second half of the film I could feel myself gradually becoming more invested in the events onscreen.

Much of the cast match each other in terms of standard, they all try and subsequently produce solid displays. I will say that I really enjoyed George Lopez's performance as Rudy, he brings a lot of life and humour to the film via that role.

Xolo Maridueña is more than decent as the titular character, while Bruna Marquezine makes for a good match alongside Maridueña; even if her character's Kord family portion of the story didn't interest me as much as the Reyes', in that sense the less said about Susan Sarandon the better here - extremely meh, at best.

I very much wouldn't say the filmmakers hit the ball out of the park with this 2023 release, but I can certainly see potential with the character going forward - given they are reportedly planning to continue with him within the DCU. As for this, it's a serviceable superhero watch.

I think most people have superhero fatigue at the moment however this movie did very well in certain areas. Unlike other recently DC and Marvel movies this movie has a lot of heart all down to the cooky combination of the Reyes family. It can be off the rail at times with some crazy action coming from this family. Xolo Mariduena has a lot of heart as he did in Karate Kid and it really shines through in a Spiderman/Peter Parker style way which does well to make you love the characters.

However while the actor and characters were interesting sadly the main plot and action was the same formulaic combination we've seen again and again. Dude gets powers, dude battles to master them, there's a love interest and dude battles a corporation with big CGI armour battles. It's very Iron Man and the same CGI over the top battles we've seen before....all very bland and generic.

I feel if this came out 10 years ago it would be a hit but sadly while the family/characters were engaging the plot left little to be invested in and had no twists or areas that stood out. The movie was enjoyable as a free streaming movie but there's little here to invest yourself in within this franchise, maybe with some non generic plot it would have been better but sadly that's not the case

Just a step above hot garbage, Blue Beetle's greatest contribution to the genre of comic book adaptations is that it is a near-perfect example of what happens when a movie is plotted out on storyboards as if it were a graphic novel, and then transferred directly to the screen. Whatever the noble intentions of the director & artists involved, what works on the page rarely ever works in the theater.

There are kernels of a great story and heartfelt acting sprinkled throughout the film that in a comic book would tease depth of character and complex storylines, but when fashioned by marketing executives aiming for four-quadrant box office returns they serve as frustrating moments in a nearly insultingly formulaic morass.

Xolo Mariduena is only slightly less flat as Jaime than he is in Cobra Kai, but his castmates mostly hold him up in the scenes that they share. Given the bad material they all had to work with, however, it's hard to make judgements about performance, as everyone had at least one moment to show what they were capable of. Shockingly, the weakest link is Susan Sarandon. She's just too good an actor to play the kind of crappy, campy villain that this sorry script calls for. She hasn't got the tools to make her cringe worthy lines fun; she's a heavyweight trapped in a featherweight bout and it just never works.

In between bouts of head shaking at simpleton dialogue & predictable story beats, I found myself wanting to see more of those good things. I wanted more of Nana's backsory (and a juxtaposition between her history & Conrad's), any kind of illustration of Jaime & the suit's relationship, and more about Rudy's genius & it's stifling by the US's Immigration policies.

The worst thing about Blue Beetle is that it had the potential to be a great film but it was dumbed down on purpose.

If not the cure to superhero movie fatigue, Blue Beetle is at least a salve. It doesn’t reinvent or redefine the genre, but finds the easy charm and fun it has that so many other movies these days have forgotten under the weight of movie universes and setting up the next movie. It’s concerned chiefly and only about Blue Beetle, and he immediately wins your heart thanks to a strong performance by Mariduena and a script that understands Jamie’s appeal as much as he does. Earnest and lovable without being boring, Jamie can give in to frustration and anger and hurt but never loses the heart so key to him and always owns up to when he falters. Combine that with one of the most endearing supporting casts in a live action super flick in ages. Lopez is utilized perfectly to his strengths, Escobedo nails the snark but also the aching vulnerability the film slowly reveals, Barrazza steals scene after scene, and Alacazar is the film’s heart. Marquezine has a winning chemistry with Mariduena, and even Guillen takes what could’ve been a forgettable role and makes it compelling with conflict etched on his face and leading into a cathartic resolution.

Sarandon does what’s asked of her, but it’s Trujillo who stands out on the villain side. He and a few twists in the script elevates what could’ve been another evil version of the lead into something a little more. There’s more social commentary and things going on than you’d think, and I even teared up twice. It gets a little bogged down by usual third act hijinks, and I wish there was more bonding between Jamie and Khaji-Da. What’s there is good, but it’s an element of the character I’m fond of that’s a little underserved here. It doesn’t quite rise to greatness, but it’s a great start and knows what it’s doing and how to execute it. I hope they get more gos at this character with this cast and crew.

DC has already proven in the past with the first "Shazam!" that a superhero movie can work if the focus is not primarily on being a hero but on topics that everyone can understand, such as family. In "Blue Beetle", the theme of family is again clearly the standout. The film has heart, and Xolo Maridueña, known mainly from "Cobra Kai", is an excellent leading man. The rest of the Reyes family also leaves a lasting impression right from the start, especially George Lopez as Uncle Rudy.

The film's effects are also solid. The "Blue Beetle" suit does look more like something from a CW show than a movie production in some scenes, and some borrowings from Iron Man are a bit too obvious. But all in all, it works quite well, and the look of the film is definitely memorable. In the end, however, it didn't convince me completely. The villains (Susan Sarandon and Raoul Max Trujillo) are far too one-dimensional and boring for that. And also, the superhero part of the story is a bit too generic for my taste. I definitely had to roll my eyes a time or two as well. Still, I'd say there have been worse comic-book adaptations this year.