Movie Review: Blue Beetle

 

Michael's Movie Grade: B

A well-made and fun superhero movie, even if it is very familiar. 

What makes this movie really work is that it is just as much about who Jaime Reyes is when he is not Blue Beetle as it is about him as Blue Beetle. So much of this film focuses on Jaime's close relationship with his family. This is very well done. It provides this film with a strong emotional center that works very well. The scenes involving the family are very charming and at times quite touching. Since the relationships between the family members feel quite real, it is easy to care about what happens to the characters in the film. This makes it so that the emotional moments end up working very well. As well as this Jaime is simply a wonderful character here. He is incredibly likable and very easy to relate to and connect with. Though many films have tried to do the average guy becomes an action hero trope, this one does it better than many and much of that is due to a very good performance by Xolo Maridueña (in fact the whole cast is great), who simply has a natural charm, but one that at the same times doesn't make him feel like he is not another guy. The likability of this character also shows itself in the action scenes as we truly care about what happens. The action scenes are also just very well executed and are simply a lot of fun to watch. A certain scene involving the secret of his love interest's father also does a very good job of world building and makes us want to see where this may go in future movies. 

The humor is hit and miss. There are times when it is really funny and other times when it falls flat. 

This movie does unfortunately have very weak villains. These villains are as cliché and bland as you can get and there is nothing to make them stand out from a million other movie villains that are essentially the same characters. There are also quite a few times where the film can not only become predictable but it can also feel way too familiar to those who have watched a lot of superhero movies.

This is nothing that is going to revolutionize the superhero genre, but it is a good solid movie.