Review of BLUE BEETLE: Mexican Might

August 16, 2023

After graduating pre-law from Gotham College, Jaime Reyes (Xolo Maridueña) went back to his home in Palmera City. His family was composed of his parents Alberto and Rocio (Damián Alcázar and Elpidia Carrillo), his sister Milagro (Belissa Escobedo), grandmother Nana (Adriana Barraza) and Uncle Rudy (George Lopez). The happy homecoming was marred by many financial and health problems which forced Jaime to find a job at once. 

Jenny Kord (Bruna Marquezine) is the daughter of Kord Industries CEO Ted Kord. Her aunt Victoria (Susan Sarandon) took over their family's multi-million business after Ted's death. When Jaime visited Jenny to ask for a job, she asked him to safekeep a box, which turned out to contain the Scarab, an ancient alien artifact. When Jaime held the Scarab, it integrated its way inside his body and gave him a bulletproof exoskeleton and awesome abilities.

I went to watch this film without knowing anything about the Blue Beetle. When the opening credits were rolling and there were no familiar names in the mostly Latino cast except for Susan Sarandon and George Lopez, so I did not expect too much. However, Jaime and the Reyes family are easy to love and we rooted for them to overcome their difficult situation, especially as the bad guys came after them to give up the Scarab.

The name of lead actor Xolo Maridueña may be unfamiliar, but fans of the Netflix nostalgia series "Cobra Kai" will recognize him as the young karate apprentice Miguel Diaz. He gives a likable and charismatic performance as the reluctant superhero Jaime Reyes. He had great chemistry with his screen family, particularly veteran comedian Lopez (as his loud, resourceful Uncle Rudy) and Oscar nominee Barraza (as his unexpectedly empowered Nana). 

The structure of the story was very similar, almost exactly, with the humor and heartwarming family dynamics of another superhero DC franchise -- "Shazam." A young man gets other-worldly superpowers to fight bad guys. When he gets into a tangle later on, his family also gets into the action with their own super-weapons. Of course, this one had a strong Mexican flavor, some dark scary transformation moments and Jaime had a love interest here. 

As a bonus for Filipino fans, the alien inside the Scarab Khaji-da (originally voiced by Mexican-American pop singer Becky G.) was voiced by Filipina voice artist Inka Magnaye, the voice of Philippine Airlines' pre-flight safety instructional video. She would surprise us now and then by injecting some Filipino phrases into her lines.

There was an extra midcredits scene that opens up a possibility of a sequel. There were also random references to Superman, Batman and the Flash, which confirms that they exist in this universe, hinting on a possibility to integrate the Blue Beetle with the Justice League. 7/10