Blue Beetle

 

Superhero/comic book fatigue may be a real thing, or it may simply reflect the decline in original and interesting stories in those sources. "Blue Beetle", regardless of it's original iteration, feels like a weak version of "Iron Man" with just a little bit of alien technology and a central character of a different ethnicity. Maybe throw in a little "Venom" to boot, and you have a formula film that feels loke a mock-tail concoction. 

Let's begin with some positive things about the film. The star, Xolo Maridueña, is an appealing actor with a youthful attitude and a friendly smile. The look of the film, heavy on CGI, is solid when it comes to the "Blue Beetle" technology, but a little less convincing and somewhat disappointing when it comes to the environment. This may reflect the fact that the film was originally going to be a streamer from HBO Max and not a theatrical release. The family plot line, a well worn path, is also a plus, at least in the first half of the movie. When the action climax shows up, the family connection becomes preposterous. 

Now, some of the drawbacks. Almost everything that George Lopez does in the film as Uncle Rudy, is off putting. Most of the words from his mouth would make a comic book character blush at having to say them. His bigoted demeanor stands out in comparison to his brother, sister in-law, and Mother. Jaime, who becomes the Blue Beetle, fortunately has been most strongly influenced by his parents and not the xenophobic, culture victim that Rudy is. Unfortunately, his sister aligns more with Rudy and her attack on privilege by taking a dump in the mansion bathroom, is an extension of an ugly victim attitude that permeates the whole film.

Susan Sarandon is the villain of the story, and you can tell it is a comic book movie because her character is a comic book level person. In an "us vs. them" story, she represents the stereotypical "them" like a cartoon. She is privileged, disrespectful, thoughtless and can't be bothered to see anyone as an individual, including the Hispanic men she is using as part of her plot. She can't be bothered to learn their names. This attitude is presented as universal when the receptionist at the Office building for her corporation, can't be bothered to get Jaimie's name right, even though he corrects her repeatedly. All of this takes place in a location dominated by Latin culture so obviously, the rich and white who have been living there their whole lives, are ignorant and self centered.   

For comic effect, it is fun to have Grandma hoist a weapon that is too large for her, and then pose like the Terminator with the canon, but it sends off a vibe that is not really where the movie was headed. The symbiotic interface needs to have a little more character so that it does not simply become a tool for an on and off switch at plot convenience. Finally, the love story could be fleshed out a little more so that we care about what happens a little more, it felt tacked on.

Overall, the film was fine, but not special. If you see it on Max next month, it will be a reasonable experience, but I can't say I would spend much to see it before then.