Reviews for the DC Comics adaptation “Blue Beetle” are now in with the film clocking up an impressive 84% (6.7/10) from 70 reviews thus far on Rotten Tomatoes.
The film’s star Xolo Maridueña will potentially carry on the character in James Gunn and Peter Safran’s new DC universe, and so far he seems to have scored winning notice for his work in the film.
Maridueña plays Jaime Reyes, a young man who gains superpowered armor following an interaction with an alien scarab. It marks DC’s first film to center on a Latino superhero.
Here’s a sampling of reviews for the film so far:
“An origin story, and one that climaxes with two computer-generated characters whomping the tar out of each other, but the movie avoids feeling like yet another by-the-numbers superhero tale.” – Alonso Duralde, The Film Verdict
“With deep roots in Latin American culture and a tone that blends Paul Verhoeven’s Robocop with Marvel’s quip-based comedy (before it wore out its welcome), DC’s latest movie succeeds entirely on its own terms.” – Jack Kleinman, Inverse
“What director Angel Manuel Soto and screenwriter Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer are bringing to the screen via Reyes’ rise into the good-guy ranks isn’t just a genre, but a culture.” – David Fear, Rolling Stone
“Blue Beetle works, basically, and that puts it ahead of the game for most DC Comics-derived movies.” – Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune
“While this hero might sound like a mash-up, Blue Beetle breaks the mold by celebrating Jaime’s greatest strength, his family, rather than defaulting to a story about yet another brooding solo knight.” – Kristy Puchko, Mashable
“A scrappy, low-stakes superhero flick brimming with charm and cultural specificity, even if the exoskeleton around it is a bit too brittle for its own good.” – Clint Worthington, Consequence
“Just when you thought super-films couldn’t get any more mechanical comes Blue Beetle, the story of ‘ancient alien biotechnology’ which turns out to have heart, soul, and some serious politics.” – Fionnuala Halligan, Screen International
“Ultimately, it devolves into the kind of chaotic clash of robot-suited antagonists that has become, in this era of the comic movie, demoralizingly repetitive and, dare I say it, boring.” – Michael O’Sullivan, Washington Post
“Blue Beetle” is set to open in cinemas everywhere this Friday.
