THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
Arguably speaking, Warner Bros' DC Extended Universe was a special era for actually getting the chance to show off other superheroes besides the infamous names of Superman & Batman. Whether you were satisfied with either version of Justice League that introduced Wonder Woman & Aquaman or got your multiversal share of fan service through The Flash, the franchise had its strongest moments of popularity when introducing heroes that fans doubted would ever be seen. Some may prefer Shazam! or The Suicide Squad, but I am grateful the studio took a chance on Blue Beetle.
PLOT
The 2023 film follows young adult Jaime Reyes who had just graduated from Gotham Law University. He returns to Palmera City to reunite with his family: His mother Rocio, father Alberto, grandmother/Nana, Uncle Rudy and sister Milagro. With his family facing financial diffculties to the point of being evicted, Jaime and Milagro get jobs cleaning the house of Victoria Kord, CEO & co-founder of Kord Industries. Sadly, they both quickly get fired after stopping a confrontation between her and her niece Jenny. Respecting them for standing up for her, Jenny tells Jaime to meet her at Kord Tower to discuss a job opportunity. The following day, the young Kord discovers her aunt to be weaponizing an alien scarab she found in Antarctica, planning to use it for her OMAC (One Man Army Corps) projects. She is able to steal it and hide it in a burger box, giving it to Jaime on the way out who promises to keep it safe. He doesn't know what it is though until returning home and when opening the box, the Scarab fuses with him to encase him with an armored exoskeleton. Apart from strength and flight, it also grants him the ability of a techno-path where he can manipulate technology with the power of his mind. He does find Jenny who explains it chose him to be his host since it is a sentient weapon, which call itself 'Khaji-Da'. She then recruits him and Rudy to help her retrieve a smartwatch that belonged to her father Ted (Bobby McGruther), which is held at the same building where she took the Scarab. The mission wouldn't be unscathed as they encounter Victoria's personal bodyguard Ignacio Carapax who has an OMAC prototype infused in his own body, making him a formidable opponent for Jaime. He is temporarily able to overpower him, but refuses to kill him as Khaji-Da insists on. Regaining the watch, Jenny takes Jaime and Rudy to her childhood home where she shows them her dad's laboratory. It turns out that Ted was once the titular vigilante who was once mentored by Dan Garrett (who had the Scarab last) and had spent his life studying Khaji-Da before disappearing which is why his company is left in his sister's hands. Rudy also learns that the scarab cannot be removed from his nephew unless it were to kill him like Garrett. When Jaime notices one of her helicopters heading towards his neighborhood, he quickly flies home to protect his family from her security. However during the commotion, Alberto would suddenly die of a heart attack and when Jaime notices, the distraction gives time for Carapax capture & take him to Victoria's island fortress near Cuba. There, she plans download the scarab's information and pass it on to her OMACs. Jenny and the Reyes family head to the fortress with her dad's 'Bugship' to save Jaime. Upon arrival, they gear up with various arsenal before splitting up to find him. When he's unconscious, he gets a vision of his dad in the afterlife who encourages him to embrace his destiny as a hero. This helps him break free despite Carapax evolving into a more powerful form. He even gets a chance to escape thanks to Victoria's personal scientist Jose Francisco Morales RIvera de la Cruz (Harvey Guillén) that she negligently calls Sanchez, who dies for his betrayal. Now in a completely symbiotic state, Jaime fights off more soldiers on the fortress as he reunites with Jenny and his family. Carapax catches up and almost kills Rudy. This riles up the Blue Beetle and almost kills his foe until Khaji-Da shows him the downloaded information revealing Carapax has been enslaved by Victoria since he was a child to be her OMAC experiment, as well as being responsible for his mother's death. Knowing he's just a victim in this situation, he spares him. Out of respect, Carapax intentionally overloads and takes Victoria with him once his suit explodes, which also destroys the island. When the Reyes family escapes with Jenny, they take the time to mourn for Alberto. As time passes, Jenny promises the repair the damage in their neighborhood after becoming the new CEO of Kord Industries. She backs up her promise by gifting Rudy a new truck that was destroyed during their adventures. She would also begin an intimate relationship with Jaime when they share a kiss and he flies her to her home. The film ends in a cliffhanger revealing Ted is still alive, recording a broadcast to reach out to his daughter.
THOUGHTS
2023 was a great year of cinema in general, but was extremely an ambitious one for Warner Bros. Discovery to release the final four DCEU films months apart from each other, as an attempt to prepare for the franchise’s reset by producers James Gunn & Peter Safran who began helming the brand starting in late 2024 with the series Creature Commandos (hoping to give a more creative arc in similar vein to what Kevin Feige and Louis D’Esposito have done with Marvel Studios). Neither entry, including this one was a financial success, but it was a better move than to be completely scrapped like Batgirl or streamed exclusively on Max where fans would miss out on an entertaining experience. This film particularly suffered financially due to the SAG-AFTRA/WGA strike prevent further promotions, as well as the situation of Hurricane Hilary being a factor that prevented audiences to go outdoors. All said factors can make you say this came out at the worst time possible, but it won’t change my opinion on how much of a good time I had. Director Angel Manuel Soto and writer Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer are still able to make an all out blast we expect from the genre. The visual effects that bring such life to the Scarab in its unlimited imagination that is expressed from one fight scene to another. From the second we see it take Jaime to Earth's stratosphere, we were sure the pacing would just get better and the costume is straight up ripped from the comic book pages. The visuals definitely looked cool on Carapax's OMAC form which have us believe how formidable he is to the protagonist. Between all the action, this film is arguably the most grounded of the franchise since Wonder Woman due to its way to fluently show the value of family (more fluent than the Fast Saga if you ask me), as they are what inspire us on what paths to take when feeling doubtful about the future you want to build for yourself. If you appreciate them, then there's enough optimism to find your way despite the obstacles. But if you don't, things might not go your way. This is the case when following the titular protagonist who struggles to find his place from the start until his conscience becomes clear by the climax. Xolo Maridueña was a perfect choice to play Jaime because the loyalty he has towards his family is surreal as he doesn't hesitate putting them over himself at any given thought. He knows he would've not gotten to college without their support, which is why he wants to return the favor when immediately working to regain their financial stability. He had the right to be doubtful on being a superhero since he never planned to be a host for an alien scarab and knows how difficult it is to be one anyway. He doesn't trust himself to think he can do it because he doesn't want to set himself up for failure, hence trusting his family's opinion so valuably. The scene in which he speaks to his dad Alfredo in the afterlife, who's played by Damián Alcázar was so moving because it showed exactly how much he loves & admires his family as a whole. HIs words are what drive him to fight not for himself, but for those who aren't strong enough to do it themselves. Becky G was a unique voice for Khaji-Da because although it's straight forward in being protective, it has its own evolution in going from over violent to being restraint like Jaime because it later comes around to accept there is no need to be relentless once the message is made. Knowing this, it will make them a more compatible duo should we see them in the new DCU. I love Alberto, but I can't ignore the rest of the fam who got their own heart to share. Elpidia Carrillo showed Rocio to be the most concerning on holding things together in realistic fashion, whereas Adriana Barraza made Nana the most resilient in her age, due to being a revolutionary in her youth. And as for Milagros, Belissa Escobedo made her likable for embracing her own fearlessness when the opportunity was given. Without sounding biased, I enjoyed Rudy so much because George Lopez for being the most eccentric of the family. Apart from having his own conspiracy theories, he's able to be a big helping hand to Jaime with his gifted mind as an engineer. Since he is by his side for the most part, he is the first to tell her how special it can get to be a hero since Ted was in his prime. Had he not explained that to him, I'm not sure if he'd be fully convinced by the climax which he thankfully does. With Jaime's family intact despite the loss, it's clear that Jaime officially has the drive to keep going the way superhero fans would expect. As much as I would've loved to see Ted have a legit onscreen appearance, it was nice to have his legacy live on through his daughter, as much as it will with the young Reyes. Bruna Marquezine was great as Jenny for having the great trait of her dad that is sincerity. She knows he never intended to use Khaji-Da as a military weapon, but just understand the potential that Jaime would go on to unfold. Seeing her own aunt become so corrupted for it, she had to give the scarab to Reyes solely off of his good heart he embraced when they first met. And their good will alone is what drives them to be attracted to one another which is why I didn't mind kissing before the credits started rolling. Together, there is no doubt how much of a difference in Plamera City the way Batman does for Gotham, no matter how much of a fascist Rudy hilariously calls him. With such good hearted protagonists, you already know how cruel the villains are gonna be, so it wasn't too surprising how evil Victoria was. Susan Sarandon nails it in making the character a Karen-like figure since she's so greedy that she only sees other people different from her as objects and nothing more. The fact she was willing to kill Jaime for the scarab and enjoys the profit she makes from terrorism as in enslaving Carapax to be her own personal super soldier. We start mistaking the guy to be so vainly as a muscle for a corrupt businesswoman, that is until Raoul Max Trujillo slowly shows him to be a misguided figure who was forced into a war that shouldn't have happened. Once Khaji-Da showed him his past, he is able to return the favor of being spared by taking Victoria with him to his grave. He chooses to take his own life when extracting revenge because he knows another government would likely weaponize off of them and wanted the pain gone for good. As much as you'd wish he had another option, you respect him going out on his own terms. If this film truly becomes canon to the next DCU, this would only be one of many unique enemies Jaime will face down the line and I am here for it. I will always defend this movie until my dying day, but even I can admit I had issues upon re-watching. Like from the start, I like Jaime gets a group hug with the fam, but that is an easy way for his luggage to get stolen because I have seen that shit happen at airports. I do respect the fam for not telling Jaime of Alberto's first heart attack, which predictably foreshadows his death, because they wanted him to focus on college and not worry. The problem is he still could've died at that time and those situations are just too serious to ignore. That was dumber than them going to a nice restaurant knowing they were broke by then. And talk about the odds of Jaime finding Jenny just as she as running from Victoria's personnel just when he was already looking for her. Imagine if he went to her aunt's house first and that would've gone off the rails for them big time compared to how the security were willing to open fire on the protagonists in broad daylight, despite Kord's government ties. And why would the watch be at the receptionist's desk of all places? I know it's luck Jenny found it somewhere near that area, but it's bizarre she didn't act realistic by looking around Victoria's office. It even feels confusing for Jaime to not know the tales of Blue Beetle. If he was Palmera City's personal hero the way Rudy describes him, he should've told him about him when he was a kid. Other than that, this movie is still a blast overall. In short, Blue Beetle is DC's best film from 2023 for getting most creative with the lore and its more genuine form of heart. If you're still a fan of DC, I hope you enjoy this one like past movies.
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