Speaking from the perspective of a decades-long comic reader, former comic shop owner, drama student, and reviewer, DC Comics doesn’t do wonderfully well with movies. There are some bright spots, but overall, they trail behind Marvel in sales, fanbase, loyalty, and quality. While the MCU has created a coherent, vast, sprawling story with interweaving narratives that make a saga of heroes, DC doesn’t seem able to unite their characters on screen. Credit where it’s due, DC tends to do fantastically with their animated shows and movies. One of those bright spots I mentioned was Blue Beetle. Hampered by bad timing and the “DCEU” coming to an ragged, uneven end, it was still an enjoyable movie that did a decent job with some complex history.

There have been at least three superheroes using the name Blue Beetle over several different companies, timelines, and universes. In a movie that was largely about action, comedy, and family they still managed to work in nods to all the different heroes, at least one of the major villains, and some very recognizable props. They departed a lot from the comics, but the movie was still well done.

In this version, Jaime Reyes returns from college to Palmera City (which appears to be someplace in southern Florida, but they never really say) to get a series of shocks about what’s been happening while he’s been gone. Let’s just say none of the news is good. Jaime’s idealism and hope from his college degree helping the family lasts about two scenes until grim economic reality sets in. Several characters were created for this movie, and the big bad is one of those, as is one of the leading characters.

Jaime’s origin in the comics is a complex thing, spinning off a major crossover event, so it has been understandably changed and streamlined for the movie. His family, too, has been changed a lot for the movie, evidently for comic relief purposes. Suffice to say, Jaime gets the Scarab which bestows powers on him and sends changes through his body and his life.

The course of events keeps going back to referencing the earlier Blue Beetles, with a lot of recognition of key names and events in their lives. For a comic and hero geek like me, this was wonderful and I salute the writers for doing it. If you don’t know Dan from Ted, you can still follow what’s going on easily enough. There is a version of one of Beetle’s few big foes, at least one place important to one of their origins, and a lot of great action.

One of the big themes of this movie stays the same as the comics is the importance of family. I don’t claim to be an expert on Latino family, but people who know more than I have commented that they got a lot of moments and the general feel about right. This theme also has a lot to do with someone getting a redemption arc that was well done.

As with most comic book movies these days, the final fight is largely dependent on CGI, and has the hero inexplicably showing most of their face. I really don’t like the general trend against secret identities, but that’s a rant for another time. Also as is common now, there are two end scenes, one that hints heavily at a sequel we’ll probably never see, and one that’s just a comedic bit with a character from Latinx culture. It’s a good, self-contained story with a few references to other heroes here and there, but nothing like a crossover.

What I Liked: Xolo Mariduena does a great job as Jaime. No, it’s not comic exact, but that’s the spirit of the character, from him being bright to the idealism to his loyalty to the family. I am really impressed that they actually made mention of the prior Blue Beetles, we saw Ted’s Bug, and the costumes of past heroes. There’s action, fun, and family. Even some of the more over-the-top comedy roles are done well. Harvey Gullen, of What We Do In The Shadows fame, is fun to watch and gives a vague hint his character here might be connected to the one on that show.

What I Didn’t: I have often said that one of the best ways to screw up an adaptation is to make needless changes from the source material. This movie weirdly split that idea. Some things were impressive, but the changes to the family were a bit baffling, and none of them needed to happen. I’m also not convinced we needed the created characters, both inside and out of the family. Two of Jaime’s best friends, huge parts of his story in the comics, are utterly missing here.

I’ll give this a 3.5 out of 5. The movie and the concepts deserved better. The massive PR budget they used on The Flash, which was horrible, would have been better spent on this one. The movie also got shafted by being just about the end of the DCEU before they relaunch and recast almost everything.

I liked this movie, and wish it had been released, and set, in better circumstances. Another “what might have been” moment as DC flails around to try and catch up with the superior on every front MCU. And I say that as someone who has favored DC Comics most of my life.