Blue Beetle: La Familia

Victoria Kord (Susan Sarandon), CEO of Kord Industries has been searching for fifteen years for the artifact known as “The Scarab”, a world killing device that bonds to a human host giving them superhuman abilities.  Not just any human, but one of “The Scarab’s” choosing. It was last in her missing brother’s possession, Ted Kord, former CEO of Kord Industries who disappeared at the same time.  Victoria finally locates the device and plans on using its power to create a military weapon.  In the poor neighborhood of Palmera City, Texas, Jaime Reyes (Xolo Maridueña) arrives home as a newly graduated college student, the first in the Reyes family, only to find out that the family is in desperate need of money.  The only job he can find leads him to become acquainted with Jenny Kord (Bruna Marquezine), the daughter of Ted Kord.  Jaime happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and ends up in possession of “The Scarab” who chooses him as its new host.  This of course puts his family and himself in danger.  Victoria and her bodyguard, Ignacio Carapax (Raoul Max Trujillo) also known as OMAC (One Man Army Core) track down and fight Jaime trying to get the artifact back.  Can Jaime protect his family, Jenny, and his own life? Watch and find out!

I was very excited for this movie as I love the Jaime Reyes incarnation of the Blue Beetle, and I was not disappointed.  A couple things set this movie apart from other superhero films.  The first, that this is really the first Latino led superhero movies that we have seen, and this plays a huge part in both the plot and the character development.  The fact that Jaime is from a poor neighborhood yet the love he shares with his family is so strong and true.  There are several points where the Latinos in the film are overlooked.  Victoria, for instance, keeps calling the main scientist on her team, “Dr. Sanchez”, when that is not his name, and she honestly doesn’t care. The class struggle not just between rich and the poor, but between races is a major theme, which I felt was handled well, with both hard-hitting drama but also comedic elements.  The other thing that sets this Blue Beetle apart from other superheroes, is that his family is fully aware of his identity, and in fact are present when he receives his powers and not only are they aware, but they stand by and fight with him.  Jenny, who grew up without a mother or father, envies the Reyes family, she may have grown up rich, but she never really had a family. These elements are what make this movie strong and a bit more enjoyable.  We can relate to Jaime as the underdog, we empathize with the family as they suffer loss and go through hard times. It binds the movie to the audience and makes us connect better with the story.

The technical aspects of the film were adequate, and nothing stood out as bad and everything seemed to accentuate the story, but it also wasn’t anything new, this was not a groundbreaking special effects film.  The music was well composed and chosen with a mixture of pre-recorded songs and original, which had both a cinematic and a Latino influence.  The story was well conceived and flowed nicely and overall had a good rhythm, although I do wish we got a bit more of the Blue Beetle in the movie about the Blue Beetle. The script was well written and the dialogue seemed genuine and well delivered, but some of the humor was on the crass side with fart and butt jokes, but it wasn’t overwhelming and I am sure some people will probably enjoy it.  The actors all did an amazing job with Xolo playing a caring, loving son and brother who was both smart and funny.  His initial reactions to the becoming the Blue Beetle and his journey to accepting his fate is both heartwarming, sad and a little bit funny. Bruna as Jenny plays his equal, a strong woman ready to fight her aunt, but also a bit sad that she never had what Jaime has, with all her money.  Adriana Barraza and Damian Alcazar both turn in good performances as Jaime’s revolutionary grandmother and his wise father respectively.  The real fun comes with Susan Sarandon’s Victoria Kord, who is just over the top enough to be a great supervillain, but not so over the top that it ventures into the land of corny. The is the personification of “Money is Evil” and it is fun to watch her being so bad!  Overall, I can’t find a lot wrong with this film.  It was heartfelt, delivered a good message and was well performed and I hope this is not the last we see of these characters.