Blue Beetle (2023) Movie Review

 Hey everyone, how's it going? I'm doing pretty well. Today I'm going to be talking about the 2023 DC Comics based movie, Blue Beetle. There will be some minor spoilers, but nothing too major because this movie is only, almost, six months old. So let's get right into it.

Blue Beetle was a huge surprise for me. After seeing the trailers, and after expressing severe disinterest in Warner Bros. Discovery's slate of DC Comics based movies following the many missteps and disasters of the last decade, since Man of Steel came out in 2013, I was super hesitant to see this movie. Especially because I hadn't read any Blue Beetle comics and didn't really know that much about the character, other than the Ted Kord version was best friends with Booster Gold (a character I dislike), and that the Jaime Reyes version had been in episodes of both Batman: The Brave and the Bold (2008-2011) and Young Justice (2010-2022). But, after reading the first twelve issues of the 2006 Blue Beetle comic book series, the first to star Jaime Reyes as Blue Beetle, I decided that I wanted to see what the movie adaptation was like. So when I was out with Brad last week I picked it up on DVD. I had wanted to get it on Blu-ray, but the store we were at only had it on DVD, which I was fine with, because it's a movie I hadn't seen yet, and wasn't sure if I was even going to like it or not. 

Like I said, the movie surprised me. It was a straightforward superhero origin story without any connection to either the previous DCEU continuity, or the upcoming DCU continuity, though according to James Gunn, this version of Jaime will appear in future DCU projects. Between him and WBD itself, I have no idea how any of the DC stuff is actually going to work for movies and TV shows going forward, but that's a discussion for another day. 

One of the things that I love about this movie is how much heart it has. It's also not cynical either. Which I really appreciate because I'm getting so sick of cynical superhero movies. The stakes were personal. It wasn't a universal save type of movie. It was Jaime trying to figure out how to be a superhero while protecting his family, and the legacy of Jenny Kord's father, Ted Kord, the second Blue Beetle. And the best part is, he still struggles with being a superhero, like the comic book version of Jaime does, which I really like. It makes him more relatable without making him unlikable. 

The cast of the movie is spectacular. The only actors that I'm familiar with are George Lopez, who plays Jaime's uncle, Rudy, and Susan Sarandon, who plays the antagonist of the movie, Victoria Kord, who is Jenny's aunt and sister to Ted Kord. Lopez is the only cast member that I've actually seen in anything besides this movie. I used to watch his sitcom, The George Lopez Show, in the 2000s and he was high profile enough in the 2000s and 2010s that I was aware of him, even if I only saw him on his sitcom, and nowhere else. 

The rest of the cast is amazing, for example I love the movie version of Jaime's sister, Milagro, who is much younger in the comics than she is in the movie, and I love Jaime's Nana, who isn't in the comics. But my favourite performances come from Xolo Mariduena as Jaime, and Bruna Marquezine as Jenny Kord. Mariduena has been in a few TV shows lately, including in Cobra Kai (2018-) as Miguel Diaz, one of the main roles of the show, but I've never seen it, and I haven't seen anything else he's been in, so this was my first encounter with him. Jenny is another character created for the movie, and I think Bruna Marquezine did a wonderful job. And while I think their chemistry together was excellent, the romantic aspect of their relationship was a bit...subdued. I mean, yes, it's not a romance movie by any means, but most comic book based and superhero movies have a more pronounced romantic element to them that this movie is lacking. I'm not even going to start speculating why that might be, but it is interesting to note nonetheless.

 The movie mostly takes inspiration from The New 52 Blue Beetle comic book series, including the Blue Beetle suit's design. Though, since I haven't read any issues of Blue Beetle except for the first twelve issues of the 2006 series, I have no idea what elements from The New 52 version made it into the movie. 

What's also interesting is that elements from the movie, such as Victoria Kord, and Jaime not being in high school, made it into the comics starting with the tenth volume (including the original Fox Feature Syndicate and Charlton Comics issues) of the Blue Beetle comic book series. Which isn't that surprising given that the movies and TV shows based on DC Comics characters have always had elements from them incorporated into the comics, going all the way back to the Max Fleischer Superman cartoons and the Batman movie serials from the '40s.

The music in this movie is great. It's done by Bobby Krlic. There's a good mix of Mexican music and classic songs like Air Supply's "All Out of Love" and a Spanish version of the Ronettes's song, "Be My Baby". "All Out of Love" isn't on the soundtrack album, but the Spanish version of "Be My Baby", titled "Tu Seras Mi Baby", is the final track on the album. So that's cool.

Blue Beetle was released on digital download on September 26th, 2023 and on DVD, Blu-ray, and 4K on October 31st, 2023. Both the Blu-ray and the 4K have several bonus features, including behind the scenes featurettes. The DVD doesn't include any of that. There's not even a commentary track on the DVD release. I have no idea how well the home media releases for the movie have sold, but, it's apparently the most streamed movie on Max, which is cool.

Overall, I enjoyed Blue Beetle. It was fun, interesting, simple, and shorter than most movies that come out these days. I hope we see these characters again in the DCU. If you've been hesitant to watch this movie as I was, I recommend giving it a try. It was fun.

Alright my friends, that's going to be it for me for today. I'll be back soon with more blog posts. So until then, have a great evening and I will talk to you later. Take care.