My Love Letter to Blue Beetle

You could say that I experienced “superhero fatigue” about 7 years ago. For a guy who has collected comic books for 35 years and spent decades begging for superhero films to be made to just stop watching the ones that are put out should tell you everything you need to know about the state of the superhero genre. Thankfully we have Ryan Campbell on staff. A man who still feels the way that I used to feel about superhero films way back when Sam Raimi was still making them. All of a sudden, though, I feel the slight tinges of hope…..

I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t have much knowledge of the character of Blue Beetle. I have absolutely no previous connection to the character or bias towards or against him. If this movie had been a complete turd I wouldn’t have felt the slightest bit of unease to write a review that called it so. On the contrary, I find myself feeling emotions during a comic book film, something that hasn’t happened since….I don’t even know when, and now I’m writing a post to try to get you to pump up the watch hours of this show so they might get a sequel on the books. Let’s talk about why Blue Beetle was so great.

Cobra Kai’s Xolo Mariduena plays Jaime Reyes, aka Blue Beetle. I’ve never watched Cobra Kai (that’s a story for another time) but I can see right away that the young man has a way about him that makes him likable. He has heart and he has just the right amount of charm to not feel fake. A feeling that we often get with “bigger named” actors who take on roles from comic books. I felt the plight of Jaime and his family. I could see them as a unit and felt myself wanting to be a part of something that strong. Something that worth fighting for. So many comic book films have stakes that are just too massive to understand but this one keeps it at ground level while still having that big-world stakes in the background.

I haven’t seen Susan Sarandon in a role like this but it felt good to have someone of her stature to play off of the titular character. She shows just the right amount of ambition without getting into the Iron Man Jeff Bridges level of villainy. As her right hand man and tough guy, she has Raoul Max Trujillo as Carapax. Is this an actual character from the comic books? I have no idea, but I do know he plays a convincing tough guy and gets plenty of opportunities to lay a beatdown on Blue Beetle.

The heart of the story is in the Reyes family. What an incredible bit of casting to find these folks to really bring the feeling and drive from the pages to the screen. As I said before, I’m not someone who came into this film with bias towards this character but I left wanting to know more about him and his family unit. It truly is incredible what a well-written script and perfectly cast film can make you feel.

In closing, I was so unbelievably pleased while watching Blue Beetle that I couldn’t find anything negative to say about it. Maybe I’m losing my touch? From all accounts, the film has done well and its service to the Hispanic community should also give it a good shot at a sequel. I’m thrilled by that and can’t wait to see what else they can put in front of the Reyes family. I just know they’ll find a way….