‘Blue Beetle’ deserves a better fate than mere DC afterthought

Imagine if DC and Warner Bros. chose to prioritize “Blue Beetle” this summer instead of “The Flash.” Swap the release dates (early June for late August), ditch the misguided Ezra Miller image reclamation project, and hype the legitimate qualities of “Blue Beetle” rather than brazenly lie about “The Flash.”

As comic books often ask: What If?

While not the jolt of originality the superhero genre desperately needs right now, “Blue Beetle” easily surpasses most of the output in the 14-film DC Extended Universe, a now failed concept which will officially expire after the release of December’s “Aquaman” sequel. Set in the neon-infused Palmera City, “Blue Beetle” takes a more lighthearted approach more akin to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (and it centers on multiple mech suit battles a la Marvel’s “Iron Man” to boot).

It’s the first superhero film with a strong Latino voice: Puerto Rican director Angel Manuel Soto, Mexican screenwriter Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer and “Cobra Kai” breakout Xolo Maridueña starring as Jaime Reyes, a first-generation college grad who returns home to help his close knit family as they face new financial hardship.

Of course, this being a big budget superhero movie, there’s also an ancient Scarab that “chooses” young Jaime after he helps a protégé at an advanced technology company (Bruna Marquenzine), who becomes the target of her weapons-obsessed aunt (Susan Sarandon). The Scarab fuses onto Jaime’s body, creating a powerful exoskeleton capable of flight, advanced combat, infinite weapons and a voice entity that shares control of the suit alongside a flabbergasted Jamie.

As silly as anything else in the genre, at least “Blue Beetle” surrounds its central character with a supportive family unit, including Belissa Escobedo as Jamie’s younger sister, Damián Alcázar as his father, Elpidia Carrillo as his mother and Adriana Barraza as Jamie’s tougher-than-she-looks grandmother. The surprise MVP of “Blue Beetle” is comedian George Lopez as Jaime’s paranoid Uncle Rudy, providing a mix of levity and heart as an unlikely pseudo-sidekick to the Blue Beetle.

The film delivers whenever it sticks with Jamie’s family, and even with all the CGI mayhem happening in the background, the attention to culture and character here adds fresh perspective to an origin story we’ve otherwise seen too many times before.

The visuals and action function well enough (especially for a movie that was originally developed for HBO Max and carries a fraction of the production budget of the ugly, CGI-heavy “Flash”). However, the various mech battles between Blue Beetle and his primary physical adversary Carapax (Raoul Max Trujillo) crib too much from the busiest of the various “Iron Man” fights over the years. Most oddly, Sarandon is miscast and distracting as Victoria Kord, the corporate baddie pulling all the evil strings.

Some missteps aside, “Blue Beetle” succeeds in many of the ways the MCU charmed audiences during its run from “Iron Man” to “Avengers: Endgame.” Unfortunately, “Beetle” exists in 2023, at a time when there have been far too many of these movies. Its lackluster box office performance is emblematic of the market’s overall superhero fatigue, especially since DC has already announced a major creative shift leaves the Blue Beetle character in limbo. This movie teases a future in its mid-credits scene that might never come to fruition.

Take away all that baggage though and “Blue Beetle” is a good time, and a huge step up from DC’s recent junk (especially “Black Adam” and “The Flash”). Whether anybody cares at this point remains an open question.

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Tyler Wilson can be reached at twilson@cdapress.com.