Blue Beetle reviews: DC movie is ‘heartwarming and crowd-pleasing’

The first reviews of DC’s latest movie Blue Beetle are here. And despite all the doom and gloom surrounding the movie’s box office prospects, the critical reception thus far is quite encouraging. At the time of writing this, the film has a score of 83 per cent on the popular review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes.

The critical consensus reads, “Led by Xolo Maridueña’s magnetic performance in the title role, Blue Beetle is a refreshingly family-focused superhero movie with plenty of humor and heart.” Starring Xolo Maridueña as the Jaime Reyes version of Blue Beetle, the film is directed by Ángel Manuel Soto and written by Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer.  Adriana Barraza, Damián Alcázar, Raoul Max Trujillo, Susan Sarandon, and George Lopez also star.

Here are some of the reviews of Blue Beetle

Associated Press’ Jake Coyle wrote, “If even a low-stakes, fairly derivative superhero movie like this can charm thanks to its warm Hispanic perspective and winning supporting cast, there’s plenty of hope yet for the genre — bugs and all.”

RogerEbert.com’s Robert Daniels wrote, “This heartwarming, crowd-pleasing comic book flick is less serious and more colorful than the tonally dour mood of many contemporary superhero films.”

BBC.com’s Nicholas Barber was less impressed. “For every mention of revolutionary direct action, there is a scene with a stereotypical trope, so I’m not convinced that the film takes a major step forward in terms of representation,” he wrote. 

Consequence’s Clint Worthington wrote, “A scrappy, low-stakes superhero flick brimming with charm and cultural specificity, even if the exoskeleton around it is a bit too brittle for its own good.”

Screen Rant’s Tatiana Hullender wrote, “Blue Beetle’s family-centric story has universal appeal, but the strength of the new DC movie lies in Jaime Reyes’ ties to his Mexican heritage.”

Washington Post’s Michael O’Sullivan said the film “devolves into the kind of chaotic clash of robot-suited antagonists that has become, in this era of the comic movie, demoralisingly repetitive and, dare I say it, boring.”

Who, really, is Blue Beetle?

Blue Beetle is a beloved DC Comics character known for his inventive gadgets, acrobatic skills, and heroic spirit. He has been a part of the DC Universe for over 80 years in one form or another and remains a fan favourite to this day. The original Blue Beetle, Dan Garrett, was created by Charles Nicholas Wojtkoski and first appeared in Mystery Men Comics #1 in 1939. The character was later revived by Charlton Comics in the 1960s and then acquired by DC Comics in the 1980s. In recent years, DC Comics has introduced a new version of Blue Beetle, Jaime Reyes, which is also the subject of the aforementioned movie. Reyes is a teenager from El Paso, Texas, who discovers an alien scarab that fuses to his spine and gives him superpowers. 

Reyes’ version of the Blue Beetle is more closely tied to the supernatural and mystical elements of the DC Universe, and he has been featured prominently in recent storylines such as Infinite Frontier and Future State.

Blue Beetle hits theatres on August 18.

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