The Blue Beetle was the third and final movie I saw on National Cinema Day. My husband wanted to see this movie, so off we went. The first movie I saw that day was Disney’s The Haunted Mansion. The second was Oppenheimer. I can’t wait to do a marathon like this next year as well.
The Blue Beetle is based on the DC comics of the same name. The film stars Xolo Mariduena as Jaime Reyes, the Blue Beetle. Familiar faces include Susan Sarandon as the villain and George Lopez as Jaime’s older brother. Also in the cast is Bruna Marquezine, Adriana Barraza, Damian Alcazar and Raoul Max Trujillo .
The plot begins in Antarctica where an ancient relic, called the Scarab, is uncovered by Kord Industries. The story then cuts to the arrival of Jaime Reyes at the airport. His entire family is there to greet him. He has come home after graduating from Gotham Law School but immediately finds out that his family has hit hard times and will be evicted from their home soon. Jaime’s sister secures a part-time job at Victoria Kord’s residence, but both Jaime and his sister are fired after Jaime intervenes in an argument between Andrea and her niece, Jenny, about Kord Industries. On their way out, Jenny tells Jaime to meet her at Kord Tower about a job opportunity as thanks for his intervention. The next day Jaime visits Kord Tower to see Jenny about the job, but at the same time Jenny is stealing the Scarab that Kord Industries is using to build weaponized human robot soldiers. In order to avoid security, Jenny gives the Scarab to Jaime and tells him not to open the box. Jaime takes the box home and is convinced by his family to open the box. When Jaime touches the Scarab, it mobilizes under Jaime’s skin. The Scarab fuses to Jaime’s spine and turns him into the Blue Beetle. The rest of the film explores what the Scarab did to Jaime, who came up with the technology and why Kord Industries is investigating its power.
Warner Bros. and DC Films got the ball rolling on The Blue Beetle in 2018. Garrett- Dunnet-Alcocer wrote the screenplay with Zev Foreman as executive producer. The film was slated to be an HBO-Max exclusive movie; however, the folks at Warner Bros. decided to release it to theaters instead because they loved the direction and creative vision of Angel Manuel-Soto for the movie. The Blue Beetle used El Paso, TX, Atlanta Georgia and Puerto Rico as the backdrop for the film. Filming began in 2022 during the Covid-19 crisis. The Blue Beetle was released in the U.S. on August 18, 2023.
While doing my research on the behind-the-scenes development, I didn’t see a whole lot of unnecessary complications, in-fighting and drama as many other films have going on in the development, writing and production phases, so kudos to all involved for being professional!. This was an entertaining movie. I was skeptical going in, but pleasantly surprised. The plot was somewhat predictable, but other than that, it was good. I give it a 4 out of 5 stars.
