Blue Beetle
Blue Beetle
An alien scarab chooses Jaime Reyes to be its symbiotic host, bestowing the recent college graduate with a suit of armor that's capable of extraordinary powers, forever changing his destiny as he becomes the superhero known as Blue Beetle.
Kevin Ward reviewedJuly 2, 2025
Blue Beetle excels when it focuses on the Reyes family unit, living in their culture and cultural experience. The Latino representation is a refreshing inclusion largely absent from blockbuster filmmaking. Xolo Maridueña makes for a charismatic lead and I hope his star continues to rise. The underlying story, however, is a well-worn superhero origin tale devoid of much originality. There’s plenty of fun to be had, though, and my kids and I certainly did. The pulsating synth score felt like it was pulled straight out of Stranger Things (complimentary). The visual effects and action sequences looked extremely polished compared to some other recent blockbuster films. The humor and overall silliness sometimes really works, and other times it descends into eye-roll inducing fart gags. And unfortunately, I did not care for Susan Sarandon’s profiteering, mustache-twirling villainess. Her character had zero regard for human-life (including her own niece), and isn’t imbued with any complexity of character whatsoever.
Negative’s aside, I had an excellent time at the theater and hope it does well at the box office. The representation and cultural inclusion shines well above the conventional superhero origin. And Bruna Marquezine 🔥🔥🔥