We just got out of the theater, we just saw Blue Beetle, and I’m doing a non-spoiler review, which isn’t something I normally do. It’s going to be very difficult, because this movie is amazing.
Mrs. Know-It-All watched it with me, and she’s giving her input too.
The movie stars Xolo Maridueña as Jaime Reyes, Blue Beetle of course, and Bruna Marquezine as Jenny Kord, the daughter of Ted Kord. For those of you who are classic comic fans of the original Ted Kord Blue Beetle, his presence is felt. Not just felt. You sit there and you go, wow, they did such a great job honoring him. There are multiple facets of it that show their head.
And Mrs. Know-It-All came at it from the other side. She knew nothing about Blue Beetle going in, and when she saw the whole lair, where Jenny was at in the house, she said she learned so much, so quickly.
A Phase One Marvel Movie
The story is very much an origin story. This felt to me like a phase one Marvel movie, and by that I mean it felt very much like the beginning of something great. Iron Man laid the tone.
Mrs. Know-It-All made a really good comparison in the car. It reminded her a lot of that original Tony Stark mentality, because he’s a smart kid, with a little bit of Peter Parker in there. Tom Holland’s Spider-Man is very childlike, and this kid’s only 22. And then a little dash of Ant-Man sprinkled in for the comedy.
The Family Reyes
She told me she saw my family up there, her husband’s family, and I did too. The family dynamic for the family Reyes is so special to me. It was there, and I was excited by it.
George Lopez is amazing in this. Everybody’s really good. The scenes you’ve seen in the trailers were a glimpse into the family dynamic, and the one thing I’ll say, and I hope it’s not a spoiler, is that the family through line lasts the entire way through.
This movie did better in one solid movie what the Fast and Furious franchise does. That franchise relies so heavily on family. It’s always been about family, whether it’s actual family or family that they brought in. This is not so much family they brought in. It’s definitely actual family, and there’s no better definition of it.
Sarandon, and Palmera City
Susan Sarandon plays the villain, which we’ve already seen. She plays Victoria Kord, the current slimy villain, and she’s so good. She’s good at being bad. She chews the scenery hardcore in this thing.
They do a wonderful job representing another fictitious city. DC, different than Marvel, has always wanted to be grounded in its own cities. Superman’s got Metropolis, Batman’s got Gotham, and the Blue Beetle character’s always had Palmera City, which in the comics was originally someplace in Texas. This is a little more like where Texas and Mexico kind of meet, right there at the ocean. That’s sort of where I think this is supposed to take place.
There’s a really cool unexpected appearance by some former DC characters. I say former because they’re back in the day characters, back in the crates. And there’s both a mid-credit and a post-credit scene, so stick around. Don’t rush out like we almost did.
I’ve Never Felt Prouder
I don’t normally do non-spoiler stuff, so this is my first time trying, and it’s hard. But I tell you what, I’ve never felt prouder to be Spanish.
I always talk a little bit about how Black Panther affected me as a black man. I’m a black Puerto Rican, because yeah, we got black folks too. And I feel like my eyes were opened more here. I feel like Blue Beetle is speaking to me. It’s very Mexican-centric, but it’s the Latin part. As a Latino man, I really identified with those characters. I can see my family and my people living.
You absolutely need to go run out and see it. You’ll laugh, and I promise you, you will cry. There are several points that I cried at, and at one of them I was floored by the fact that I was crying. There’s a scene with the daughter.
The acting is very good, because whatever they go through, whether it be happy or sad, you’re feeling it with them. Belissa Escobedo plays Milagro Reyes and she’s an amazing actress. Everybody’s doing wonderful work, all the way to Damián Alcázar, who plays the father. They represented a culture in such a wonderful way.
Superman Gets Dropped Like a Football Player
The funny thing is they didn’t have to do much world building. They drop a reference to Superman the way we might drop a reference to a football player. At one point they’re mentioning that the superheroes are in the major cities with the bigger problems, and they’re not going to worry about Kord. And you saw the trailer, where George Lopez is like, “Batman’s a fascist.” It’s so great. George Lopez again, chef’s kiss.
It was the movie I was ready for, and I’m blown away. I want to be hopeful for the rest of DC. I know everyone’s all Superman: Legacy, and I’m down for Superman: Legacy. But bro, James Gunn, pay attention. This is the movie you need to make sure rolls right into your DCU as the last vestiges of the old regime. Walter Hamada is listed as an executive producer on this, so it’s definitely from the previous people who were running the place. But for the direction they’re moving in now, this is a wonderful place to start from.
A Million Times Before
I heard another reviewer recently say that it does a good job showing us things we’ve seen a million times before.
You saw Crazy Rich Asians? It’s the same story you’ve seen a million times before, but you’d never seen it from that perspective. This is a superhero film unlike anything you’ve seen before.
The best example I can give you is Shazam. That was the kind of family thing you’ve seen before, so you kind of go, oh yeah, I get it, a bunch of, I was going to say white kids, but my point is it’s characters we’ve seen doing things we’ve seen. I’ve never seen characters like these doing things like this. We’ve seen stuff like this, sure. You’ve never seen anything like this.
Go see this movie. You’re going to want to see it twice. Bring your family. It’s very kid-friendly, a couple of curse words here and there, but nothing they haven’t heard on the school ground. I love you so much, raza.
The Verdict
Blue Beetle lands at a 9.5 out of 10 on the Know-It-All Index, and that’s my non-spoiler grade. Nine and a half.
Mrs. Know-It-All is reserving hers. She’s holding her rating back for the spoiler review, because she really wants to talk about stuff before she gives it, and I’m down.
I absolutely adore this movie, and I honestly want to go see it again.
Tell me what you thought of Blue Beetle, and keep it spoiler-free for the folks who haven’t gone yet. The conversation lives in the comments on the video above.
