Franz Kafka never realized how close he came to kickstarting a superhero franchise.
Ever since Gregor Samsa awoke in his bed to find himself transformed into a monstrous dung beetle in weB次元官网网址檝e had spider-men, wasps, ant-men, crime-fighting ticks and mighty mantises B次元官网网址� such a super swarm of insectoids that you might be tempted to reach for a fly swatter.
WeB次元官网网址檙e now back to the beetle with the new DC Comics film which opens in theaters Thursday. But what distinguishes B次元官网网址淏lue BeetleB次元官网网址� isnB次元官网网址檛 its place in the bug brigade but the person doing the metamorphosizing.
Jaime Reyes (Xolo Maridue帽a) is the first Latino superhero in a leading role in a DC film. ItB次元官网网址檚 not just token casting, either. B次元官网网址淏lue Beetle,B次元官网网址� directed by 脕ngel Manuel Soto and written by Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer, is firmly rooted in the experience of the Reyes clan, a close-knit Mexican-American family scraping by in the shadow of the gleaming Miami-like fictional metropolis of Palmera City.
Jaime is their first college graduate B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淎nd last!B次元官网网址� cheerfully chimes his sister, Milagro (the very funny, scene-stealing Belissa Escobedo). The parents, Alberto (Dami谩n Alc谩zar) and Rocio (Elpidia Carrillo) are broke and on the cusp of losing their home to the encroaching, all-powerful Kord Industries. Also living with them are JaimeB次元官网网址檚 grandmother (Adriana Barraza) and his truck-driving uncle (George Lopez, having a ball).
B次元官网网址淲e used to have the other side of the tracks,B次元官网网址� says Milagro. B次元官网网址淣ow they want that, too.B次元官网网址�
Despite big post-college ambitions, Jaime is stuck cleaning hotel rooms with his sister. Given what his family has sacrificed for him, heB次元官网网址檚 saddled with guilt. So after a chance encounter with Jenny Kord (the Brazilian actress Bruna Marquezine), niece of the companyB次元官网网址檚 imperial chief executive Victoria (Susan Sarandon), Jaime jumps at the chance of a job opportunity.
He happens to turn up at Kord headquarters just as Jenny is fleeing with VictoriaB次元官网网址檚 prized discovery: a blue metallic scarab from outer space called the Khaji da that sheB次元官网网址檚 using to create an privatized robotic army. ItB次元官网网址檚 admittedly quite a jump from the real estate business, but, well, interest rates are sky high.
Before you know it, Jaime, tasked with hiding the beetle by Jenny, is looking down at the thing when it sinks itself onto his face and quickly seeps into his body. GregorB次元官网网址檚 initial response to changing into a beetle was simply to turn over (B次元官网网址淗ow about if I sleep a little bit longer and forget all this nonsenseB次元官网网址�), but Jaime is afforded no such chance. HeB次元官网网址檚 immediately rocketed through the roof and into space.
In the broadly sketched but spirited B次元官网网址淏lue Beetle,B次元官网网址� much of what follows is as youB次元官网网址檇 expect. ThereB次元官网网址檚 getting used to the new outfit (and the sentient being that communicates Venom-style within Jaime). A recent past to uncover. The inevitable climactic battle between two hunks of CGI.
But B次元官网网址淏lue Beetle,B次元官网网址� the final entry in distinguishes itself in other ways. JaimeB次元官网网址檚 family is continually along for the ride, making up his supporting cast when the big fight comes. (The grandmotherB次元官网网址檚 younger days as a revolutionary emerge, comically.) Superheroes are ultimately empowerment fantasies, though theyB次元官网网址檝e often got away from that. B次元官网网址淏lue BeetleB次元官网网址� manages to come closer than most in evoking the thrill of the powerless suddenly handed cosmic strength.
Soto plays it fast and loose, mixing in a little lewdness (B次元官网网址淎ctivate bug fartB次元官网网址� is a new addition to the often solemn DC universe) and shades of neon blue and purple along the way. B次元官网网址淏lue BeetleB次元官网网址� doesnB次元官网网址檛 have much originality going for itself and Maridue帽a doesnB次元官网网址檛 make a significant impression. But the film crucially gets that superhero movies donB次元官网网址檛 need to be self-serious to make a serious point.
B次元官网网址淏lue Beetle,B次元官网网址� light, lively and sincere, is a tribute to the tenacity and indomitability of Mexican-American families that have clawed their way into an often inhospitable society. Family members, usually plot points of some animating trauma in superhero movies, are here a central part of the action. (Lopez gets countless cracks in, and most of them land.)
ItB次元官网网址檚 a time of self-inquiry for the superhero movie after hints of a new downward trend (despite some notable exceptions like the blistering with its ). B次元官网网址淏lue Beetle,B次元官网网址� which had at one point been destined to go straight to streaming, falls in the middle of this new uncertain terrain. After a string of disappointments, future DC installments will take the comic book franchise in new directions. So it remains to be seen if B次元官网网址淏lue BeetleB次元官网网址� can be much more than a bug in the system amid larger industry shifts.
But IB次元官网网址檇 wager there will be plenty of moviegoers B次元官网网址� especially young Hispanic ones not accustomed to seeing reflections of themselves in Hollywood comic book spectacles B次元官网网址� whoB次元官网网址檒l grin all the way through the breezy B次元官网网址淏lue Beetle.B次元官网网址� If even a low-stakes, fairly derivative superhero movie like this can charm thanks to its warm Hispanic perspective and winning supporting cast, thereB次元官网网址檚 plenty of hope yet for the genre B次元官网网址� bugs and all.
B次元官网网址淏lue Beetle,B次元官网网址� a Warner Bros. release is rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association for sequences of action and violence, language, and some suggestive references. Running time: 127 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four.
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