Blue Beetle Wins Over a Mom Who Usually Finds Superhero Movies Meh
This one has heart, soul, and a kickass family who really save the day
I’m the kind of movie watcher who wanders off for snacks during the fight scenes. I’m not squeamish about violence, I just find it boring. It’s all about the story for me, the relationships, depth, and growth.
Blue Beetle kept me in my seat.
I’ve noped out of the middle of many superhero movies over the years. Too much action, not enough heart, incomprehensible plotlines if you haven’t seen all the other movies or read the comics, and characters I can’t make myself care about.
Does the entire budget for these flicks go to the explosives team and nothing to the writers? It’s not like superhero movies can’t be good. I adored Superman, Spiderman, Black Panther, and Wonder Woman. There’s an entire second tier of comic book movies I found enjoyable as well.
The problem isn’t the basic premise. An ordinary person turned extraordinary uses their power for good. Add in a compelling villain, a few trusty sidekicks, and maybe a love interest. Stir together with good acting, clever dialogue, creatively choreographed fight scenes and you’ve got a winner.
The hero’s journey will always sell if you put effort into getting it right. Churn them out nonstop without taking time to salt the butter and the milk’s gonna curdle. Soon you’re spreading rancid crap over your toast and wondering why no one wants to come to your place for breakfast.
Most superhero movies don’t sink to the level of spoiled. They’re just mediocre.
What elevates Blue Beetle out of the yawn zone are the sidekicks. The heart and soul of this movie comes from the Reyes family. This loving Latino family is ride or die for each other and Jaime Reyes couldn’t become the Blue Beetle without them.
Writing a script with believable family dynamics and finding and directing actors to bring them to life is a lot harder than splitting buses in half and blowing up cars. Which is why so many movies don’t even try.
Too often movies tell us families love each other but they don’t show us. By the time Jamie and the Reyes family first face physical danger we not only believe the depth of their love and willingness to sacrifice for each other, we’re in love with all of them too.
As I walked to the movie theater, I wondered about my choice for the day’s viewing. At least I won’t cry at a superhero flick like I did during Barbie and Elemental. Spoiler alert: I cried. When these characters got hurt it wasn’t just cartoon violence. The actors had sucked me in.
The thing about superhero stories, the reason I normally keep away, is they so often rely on the flash, bang, pow of the genre and neglect the humanity. You’re literally dealing with comic book characters.
I appreciate a nifty gadget as much as the next girl raised on the science fiction of the sixties, seventies, and eighties. I’ll willingly suspend disbelief for all sorts of implausible plot points and gimmickry. But the more your story relies on the technically impossible, the more you need to ground the interactions between characters in reality.
Blue Beetle was written by a Mexican American, Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer, and directed by a Puerto Rican, Ángel Manuel Soto. These men tap into the rich, deep vein of a strong subculture and the movie is powerful as a result of this choice.
Jamie Reyes and the rest of the Reyes family may be catapulted into a surprising world of science fiction but the emotion, the heart, the relationships, and even the humor all come from the deep reality of life as immigrants and second-generation Americans.
Some fans are annoyed at a Latino Blue Beetle. Trying to be all “woke” ruins movies, they say. On the contrary, this decision raises Blue Beetle out of the ordinary and into something special.
The Blue Beetle’s powers come from outer space but Jamie Reyes comes from Edge Keys, a fictional town representing the very real Latino communities pushed to the edges of America’s border cities. His home shapes his character as much as Wakanda shapes the Black Panther.
Where do heroes come from? Can anyone be a hero? Do heroes have to look like me? What does it mean to Latino kids to have a hero who looks like them, a family that sounds like theirs?
Stories have power. “With great power comes great responsibility,” says Peter Parker’s Uncle Ben. A Latino superhero is a tiny start.
Young adult worries about disappointing his family is a tale as old as time. Hard-working family about to lose their house to rich corporate landlords is also a classic. Rich kid meets poor kid and they fall in love is a romance staple.
Movies aren’t crappy because they use the same old tired tropes. These scenarios are tropes because they’re universal, they connect to something deep within, they make us feel.
Flops fail because they don’t sell the story. We don’t connect to the characters. Nothing matters and we can’t relate. Maybe flashy special effects are enough to draw in devoted superhero fans but they’ll never win with the casual viewer like me.
I want story. I want heart. Blue Beetle delivered. I didn’t even need popcorn.