When DC released the short animation movie Blue Beetle in 2021, I never thought I would see its adaptation on a big screen especially when DC Comics is in a lot of turmoil. But, I think a refreshing take on it could be one of the factors to revive the ever so dead DCEU. The storyline, however, doesn’t show Ted Kord as Blue Beetle but in fact Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer, the writer of the movie, chose Jaime Reyes played by Xolo Maridueña from DC Comics Infinite Crisis 3 published in February 2006 for the lead role. This is a good decision considering the fact that James Gunn’s DC verse is going to be different with a lot of new actors.
We have all seen Xolo Maridueña on YouTube and the Netflix series Cobra Kai. He looks like ready material for the role. With his martial arts training from the series, the fight sequences appear more natural. Also, the Brazilian actress Bruna Marquezine looks promising for the role. Besides that, seeing George Lopez again on screen after a long gap is indeed good. He still gives me vibes of the 2015 movie Spare Parts where he helps a bunch of undocumented migrant kids in building tech from spare parts. This is so relatable given the fact that this movie also shows him as a tech genius who himself belongs to an immigrant Latin American family.
In the movie, Jaime is shown as a graduate student returning to a fictional city of Palmera but we could see from his t-shirt that he actually went for his studies in Gotham city which would inadvertently result in a crossover with Batman at some point I assume. Now, which Batman is a big question. Already in the movie Flash, DCEU has messed up with the cast. But, assuming James Gunn’s stubborn attitude, it would be very difficult to guess the actor’s name. I certainly don’t hope to see John Krasinski as Batman.
The humor is decent considering the fact that a social commentary is encouraged in the movie about how a graduate would mean a whole life of student debt and loans. But, while looking for a job if you cross paths with a rich girl, that actually qualifies as a dream for most migrants. So, I assume the amalgamation of a Latin American family with Kord industries is done wisely with a subtle humor.
Keeping everything aside, a movie such as this would be considered decent based on the villain it chooses. Though Blue Beetle doesn’t bring any significant DC villain in the origin story of Jaime Reyes, it subtly hints in the post credit scene that the original Blue Beetle, Ted Kord, is still alive. This might open doors for some of the prominent nemesis of Blue Beetle in the upcoming DC movies which could lead to more crossovers among DC movies. And, that is exactly what is required to revive the DC universe.