Blue Beetle - The Movie!

Blue Beetle the movie came out in 2023, and I finally got around to watching it. It ain't bad, not bad at all. My hesitation in catching a movie starring such a revered comic book name came because I was almost totally unfamiliar with the Jaime Reyes version of Blue Beetle introduced into the comics in 2006 in Infinite Crisis. I left the new comics sphere in 2007, and aside from that appearance I have never read a single comic featuring this rather successful version of the character. I have no idea how he integrated with the earlier versions of the hero and if he was connected to Dan Garrett or Ted Kord at all. So it was with an almost utterly open mind that I approached this flicker. And I liked it. 

I'm not one of those crusty fanboys who thinks heroes need to be frozen in amber and never change with the times. The shift in the last several decades to give us heroes from a range of cultures and with a range of skin tones and gender identifications is a positive move and showcases how comics can be a force for positive social change, leading the way by showcasing such varied identities for readers who might not otherwise have any familiarity with such  differences. So, I'm totally accepting of the Jaime Reyes version of Blue Beetle, I was just not familiar with it. 

I don't know how accurate the movie is to the comics, but I liked how the movie did tie the scarab to the earlier incarnations and I was especially gratified to see so much of Ted Kord's technology on display, especially The Bug. I am curious to know if Jaime's family play as important a role in the comics as they do in the movie, a big and pleasant surprise. I imagined they'd show up for a the first third of the movie then fade into the background, but that was not the case at all. I winced when I saw George Lopez in the cast, but I soon learned he was a fun character and added some spice to the proceedings. It was a strong cast, and the grandmother was a hoot. 

The movie features the classic wealthy maniac as the villain, and I for a time found this to be a bit of a cliche, though often accurate. With the way of the world now, with regular folks in a pitched battle with billionaires to retain their own sovereignty, I'm much more sympathetic to the rich asshole as baddie trope. Susan Sarandon was sufficiently malignant as a corporate overlord with no regard for the little people she crushed to consolidate her power and wealth. 

Overall, I give the movie a strong "B" grade. It's not a perfect film, but it has enough strong beats and enough cool callbacks to Blue Beetle details I personally love, that I was entertained. It didn't hurt that Jack Kirby's OMAC got a shout out as well. 

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