Riot’s Reviews: Blue Beetle
The journey of the DCEU has been a story of highs and lows, with the lows arguably dominating the decade-long run in the box office. Brief observations of its online ranking scores at the very least paint the picture of a general population that is incredibly polarized by each film. As far as my opinion goes, even its best pictures like Wonder Woman and Aquaman aren’t enough to say that DC’s live-action endeavor was a success. Obviously, this is reflected in the fact that the DCEU is on its last leg, limping out its last few titles in the next couple of years. Even concerning its latest film, it seems fairly apparent that the higher-ups of DC are severely scaling back on the marketing, as the conversation surrounding this movie appears to be fairly dead. So with the promise of a reboot from James Gunn, the chaos surrounding Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, and the threat of being irrelevant to future productions, how would DC’s new hero Blue Beetle fare?
After ruminating on this for a day or so, the best I can say is that it is kind of a mixed bag. Throughout the film, I found myself sincerely wanting to like it and there were some aspects that would argue in its favor. But digging into the negatives first, my biggest takeaway and frustration was the writer’s inability to stay consistent. The storyline contradicts itself on major pieces of its plot, which disrupts any reliability of messaging. Internal character conflict in one scene is completely thrown out the window in another and even the societal dynamics are underwritten by ideas that simply don’t make sense. Performance-wise, it is incredibly shaky. I’d argue that most people could forgive an uneven portrayal from new talent/faces that haven’t yet established themselves in the Hollywood landscape. As I saw it, that grace can only really be applied to the two main characters Jaime Reyes (Xolo Mariduena) and Jenny Kord (Bruna Marquezine). But with the large cast and their interactions, many of the attempts at levity/humor felt forced and fell flat. I could count on one hand the amount of times I heard audible laughter from the audience.
Even if you ignore the spotty performances of the young actors, it is impossible to do so for its two “established” celebrities and their awful acting. Susan Sarandon as the film’s big bad was so terrible I would say the only worse performance I could think of was Julianne Moore in Kingsman: The Golden Circle. Similarly, I am baffled at George Lopez’s character of Uncle Rudy. Though it wasn’t localized to his character alone, everything surrounding him felt like either a dreadful Hispanic stereotype or a walking, (unfortunately) talking deus ex machina. Why is he a hacker? Why can he pilot a ship he’s never seen or used before? Why doesn’t he shut up ever? All valid questions. When you have the old gen vs. new gen dynamic in a film, the performances should look like Robert Downey Jr. and Tom Holland, not whatever this was. Finally, while I’d give the overall special effects a solid B+ rating, there are a number of sketchy moments and some really strange design choices that threaten to take you out of the action. Like having the final bad guys armor animation look better than its hero’s for some reason.
Coming in first on the positive column is the main theme of the story: the importance of family. Thematically, this is the only thing that most online reviews could actually agree on and in the midst of almost endless Hollywood propaganda, I was grateful to see a solid message like this make it into a mainstream movie. In second, the hand-to-hand action sequences/choreography were actually pretty fantastic. Anytime the action was up close and personal, even with the use of blaster effects, it helped to ground the movie and stay entertaining. Third, the special effects overall were really pretty great. Jaime’s first flight into the stratosphere and everything surrounding Blue Beetle’s Bug were fantastic. Finally, I’m a sucker for anime/video game references. Xolo’s Goku-like power ups and his use of a Buster Sword were particular highlights for me.
Riot’s Rating: 7/10: I’m definitely sitting on the fence for this one. There are some pretty egregious storytelling errors and the performances aren’t the best. But the action is decent and the special effects are visually satisfying. Final, personal analysis? I’d wait for streaming.
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