Blue Beetle (2023)

 

Yes, another superhero adventure/origin story. Sometimes it feels as though everyone's been inundated by those and at times they do lack in quality. This one is lighthearted and fun to watch, but don't expect a life-changing experience. 

It is what it is: entertaining, yet ultimately a bit forgettable. 

Jaime Reyes is a student returning home to his family of well meaning yet busy-bodying relatives. Turns out they are not doing so well in the financial department and might have to give up their home. Enter the heiress to Kord Industries, who promises Jaime a job, even though it seems more like a throwaway line to upset her aunt who is currently the CEO and working on a mech suit for combat purposes.

Yes, she's an evil corporate person. How did you guess?

Eventually Jaime gets hold of a strange blue scarab that turns out to be an alien entity constructing a suit around Jaime which of course the evil corporation wants. Yes, they will do anything to get it. Yes, there is a hapless soldier who has to wear another type of suit that needs to be upgraded with the energy from the Blue Beetle outfit.

Is it all predictable as you might expect? Of course it is.

This film's saving grace are the characters. Xolo Maridueña is a nice hero figure, but it is his family that actually is the most fun. His mother, grandmother and uncle Rudy all are hilarious and enjoyable to watch and the entire Mexican vibe they injected in this film makes it all just that bit different. But in the end it is a bog standard superhero origin story which we have seen a million times.

Don't get me started on how they wasted Susan Sarandon, by the way.