Blue Beetle: Does it deserve to bomb?

By Kevin Maguire

Superhero films are on a steady decline. None more so than those released by DC.

Most recently, Andy Muschietti’s The Flash released to abysmal box office numbers. On a production budget of £200 million, it gained only £55 million during its opening weekend. Over two months later, it has just managed to creep over the line and break even.

There’s much to thank for this struggle. A start would be DC’s unrivalled misunderstanding of how to build a superhero universe. Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel opened the DC Extended Universe before his Batman V Superman flick set up his Justice League film that wasn’t his, but then he got to do his version which is four hours long and shot in a square. And there were some Wonder Woman and Shazam films in there too.

It didn’t make any more sense in real time either.

Beyond DC’s failings, their rivals, Marvel, had failed to capture audiences in the same windfall as they once had. Releases like Ant Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and Thor: Love and Thunder seemingly proved there was nothing new to be found in the genre. Although, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 released to rave reviews and garnered more than twice its budget. A fresh take bares fruit.

Blue Beetle fell victim to the same ailment of recent caped adventures.

Directed by Angel Manuel Soto, Blue Beetle follows Jaime Reyes (Xolo Maridueña) as he seeks a job after leaving college. Instead, after a chance encounter with corporate princess Jenny Kord (Bruna Marquezine), he ends up with an ancient alien scarab which grants him powers beyond imagination.

While this stripped back origin story has unique elements that can’t be found in others, it’s difficult to market a movie that the world thinks they saw in 2008.

Superhero films changed with the release of 2012’s Avengers Assemble. Since then, we’ve seen intergalactic crossover events and spider stories spanning the multiverse. Blue Beetle doesn’t come across as a fresh take in its promotional material. And given the absolute visual vomit of The Flash, there really was no reason to spend your time or money on this little movie.

But the millions who passed on this one have made a mistake.

While telling his origin, Blue Beetle is also the story of a young man fighting gentrification. The sinister Kord Industries is buying up more and more land in the fictional Palmera City and now they’re forcing out the Reyes family. But in order to save themselves and their way of life, they’ll have to team up with the heir to the company. Within the packaging of this quaint superhero genesis, there sits a burning indictment of the attitude towards working class migrant families.

Like any good feature, Blue Beetle doesn’t rely on dialogue to relay its central theme. The production design by Jon Billington does an incredible job of displaying the difference in riches between two sections of the fictional Palmera City. All without making the poorer side of the city feel lacking in love.

Love that is radiated by Jaime’s family. Unlike many superhero origin stories, Blue Beetle is not alone in his efforts. In fact, the film winds up feeling like an ensemble story. Everyone from Jaime’s nana to his sister is a charming addition to the world of the film. Simple as it may be, it has an arsenal of trinkets that aren’t found in the abundance of origin stories we’ve seen on screen.

It’s clear to see how Blue Beetle came to flop. Made on a budget of £120 million, it made £25 million on its opening weekend. It’s a damn shame that the film had to follow in the footsteps of The Flash, because its a far better film in every way.