Title: Blue Beetle
Director: Angel Manuel Soto
Cast: Xolo Mariduena, Bruna Marquezine, Damian Alcazar, George Lopez, Adriana Barraza, Elpidia Carrillo, Susan Sarandon, Belissa Escobedo, Raoul Max Trujillo
Where: In theatres near you
Rating: ***
Written by Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer and directed by Angel Manuel Soto, Blue Beetle is DC’s first live-action Latino superhero adventure film.
Action-packed but with warm familial bonds at the heart of the narrative, this buoyant and ardently enthusiastic origin story of the superhero is fresh and engaging despite being formulaically designed.
Set in the fictitious Palmera City, the story revolves around Jaime Reyes, a fresh graduate who returns home only to find his family is being bogged down, by the all-consuming, tech-intensive Kord Industries, headed by the power-crazy Victoria Kord (Susan Sarandon), who is also referred, as “Cruella Kord”. Gentrification is edging the Reyes out.
In his endeavour to land a respectable job, Jaime trails Jenny, Victoria’s philanthropic niece, who does not see eye-to-eye with her aunt.
Jenny initially offers to help Jaime find work at Kord Industries. It is after she steals – “the Scarab, a world-destroying weapon” from her aunt’s organisation and hands it over to Jaime for safekeeping that gives Jamie the identity of “Blue Beetle” and his goal.
The Scarab is a sentient tech-beetle that has a mind of its own. “You can’t choose it. It chooses you.”
So, it is no surprise when the Scarab chooses Jamie and attaches itself to him to form a symbiotic relationship enabling him to fly through the roof and into orbit, cut a bus in half, and shield himself in defence by creating a suit of armour around him.
What gives the film a heart is the involvement of the entire Reyes family, which includes Jamie’s parents (Elpidia Carrillo and Damian Alcazar), his younger sister Milagro (Belissa Escobedo), his gran whom he fondly calls “Nana” (Adriana Barraza) and his loud anarchist uncle Rudy (George Lopez). They are all overly affectionate and caring, and their chemistry on-screen is infectious.
With an unassuming, boy-next-door look, Xolo Marideuna as Jamie delivers a delightfully refreshing performance. So does everyone else in the cast.
The only odd one out is Bruna Marquezine. She, as Jenny Kord in a stereotypical and poorly crafted character, plays Jamie’s love interest. Honestly, she is short-changed by the script.
Keeping you glued to the screen are clunky battles between Blue Beetle and Ignacio Carapax - the Indestructible Man, essayed by Raoul Max Trujillo. With an emotional back-story and a formidable appearance, he is the perfect antagonist to give Blue Beetle a larger-than-life image.
Mounted with moderately decent production values, the film’s scenes fluctuate from brilliant to average. This mainly hits you during the denouement when the supposedly entire neighbourhood lands at the Reyes destroyed residence. It’s this scene that suddenly brings down the larger-than-life feel of the film.
The dialogues in Latino English interspersed with Spanish and Portuguese words add to the flavour of the narrative. But with dramatic punch words beeping out, it is a killjoy for the audiences watching the film in Indian theatres.
