Blue Beetle (2023) (Film Review)

Blue Beetle (2023) Do we finally have the worst superhero movie ever? Sorry… but no, not yet! Blue Beetle is the generic superhero movie par excellence. By that you mean that Angel Manuel Soto’s feature film (his first big budget) doesn’t invent gunpowder, fire or bubble wrap, following the perfect superhero origin story manual to the letter. The family context, the difficulty of finding one’s place, great power means great responsibility… Blue Beetle is a cross between Spider-Man and Iron Man (and why not Spawn too, while we’re at it) with a nice dose of predictability that breaks several records.

We’re also thinking of those Japanese “metal heroes” TV series, the best of which was, without question, Sheriff Space Gavan.In French, he was known as X-OR.Sheriff Space Gavan (宇宙刑事ギギャバン, Uchū Keiji Gyaban in homage to Jean Gabin, yes!), known in the Philippines as Sky Ranger Gavan, also known as Space Cop Gabin and Space Cop Gaban, or simply Gavan, is a Japanese Tokusatsu series produced by the Toei company and broadcast on TV Asahi.

Getting back to Blue Beetle, it’s quite simple: the film contains no surprises, based on a script that compiles everything that’s been seen before for almost three decades. The layer of drama, the exposition of the hero’s powers and values, the funny sidekick, the pretty, intelligent girl who helps the hero excel, the money-loving villain, the final battle set to pop music and special effects that aren’t completely finished in several scenes… Blue Beetle isn’t something you watch, it’s something you guess in advance. On the other hand, Blue Beetle doesn’t take itself too seriously, unlike The Flash and Black Adam. There aren’t a thousand other characters appearing from other films. Crossovers are one of comic fans’ favorite events, but here, there simply aren’t any. The family is given ten times more prominence than usual, and it’s sickening.

The humor is really bad at the beginning of the film, and the intro is unbearable for the whole of the first half-hour. One thing saddens me deeply: this is kind of the end of Susan Sarandon. Especially when it comes to roles. She was already in the catastrophic “The Jesus Rolls”… These are mistakes that are hard to forgive. There are actors who have disappeared for less.

Blue Beetle has a few good moments, some fine values and not all the humor is throwaway… even though, deep down, I know this movie is totally pathetic. I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot worse soon.

My Rating