Blue Beetle 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		2.5

Blue Beetle 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Yeah, it blew all right.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III October 27, 2023

During the last few years, we've already gotten a DC superhero film centered on family and togetherness where the title character reluctantly deals with new, unpredictable powers -- two, actually -- and they're both better than Ángel Manuel Soto's bland and uninspired Blue Beetle, which ranks only slightly above last year's dud Black Adam and just below Wonder Woman 1984 as the studio's worst of this decade. Is it an all-out failure, or even embarrassingly bad? No, but the film's generic story, plot conveniences, clichéd dialogue, and mostly lackluster performances don't earn it any bonus points, leaving the carapace of an otherwise serviceable film to flounder in a sea of sound-alikes.

The story, such as it is, follows Jaime Reyes (Xolo Maridueña), a recent college graduate -- the first in his family -- who has just returned home to celebrate with his mom and dad (Elpidia Carrillo and Damián Alcázar), sister Milagro (Belissa Escobedo), grandmother (Adriana Barraza), and uncle Rudy (George Lopez). Jaime dreams of pulling them all out of poverty on the outskirts of futuristic Palmera City, where they will lose their home in a matter of months.

Finding cleaning work at the lavish home of ultra-wealthy CEO Victoria Kord (Susan Sarandon), Jaime and Milagro are soon fired for different reasons... but not before he overhears an argument between Victoria, her niece Jenny (Bruna Marquezine), and mysterious bodyguard Ignacio Carapax (Raoul Max Trujillo) regarding the future of Kord Industries; specifically, the recent discovery of an ancient blue scarab in Antarctica and its role in the development of a new robotic police prototype. After leaving, Jaime and Jenny share a brief exchange and she offers him a job at Kord Industries the next day. Jenny secretly steals the scarab to halt production, but clueless Jaime ends up taking it home in a box for her with strict instructions not to open it. Curiosity gets the best of his family and, soon enough, the artifact has chosen its new owner and grants Jaime symbiotic superpowers... whether the poor kid wants them or not. Jaime's a veritable war machine, possessing heavy offensive capabilities and invulnerability to almost all attacks; his alien-like armor simply won't let him get hurt. Naturally, Victoria and her henchmen will stop at nothing to get the scarab back.

More than most in the genre, Blue Beetle distractingly relies on tropes, clichés, and plot conveniences to tell its story, careening wildly from one connect-the-dots signpost to another with reckless abandon. Its setup seems rigidly forced rather than efficient, with other plot twists, emotional beats, and even entire acts hinging solely on sheer chance. Need help bypassing security? Use the oversized gadget that apparent tech-wizard Rudy has been secretly working on and fits exactly in the back of his Toyota Tacoma™. How about a place for the good guys to regroup? Stop at the abandoned Kord estate, full of crucial family lore, that Jenny remembers exactly how to get to despite no one going there since she was 8. (It's also conveniently off the very next highway exit.) Blatant shortcuts like this don't make a strong foundation to build upon and Blue Beetle's narrative never recovers from its flimsy first half, resorting to flashy action scenes and an all-out war in the numbing home stretch where, you guessed it, Jaime's whole family gets involved.

It's all to familiar to forgive, with Blue Beetle limping through critical moments with less energy than you'd expect for a film that at least feels like it wants to be lively and fun. Though not without a few bright spots and admittedly dynamic fight scenes, it's about as disposable as superhero films get. Performances are passable at best; Xolo Maridueña barely squeaks by in the lead role and is upstaged by most of his family, but only Susan Sarandon feels fully out of place here; she comes off like a store-brand Kelly Bishop and seems to be in over her head in this kind of role.

All told, Blue Beetle is aggressively mediocre, a big-budget film with good intentions that nonetheless feels like it came off an assembly line. Brian Orndorf was slightly more forgiving in his theatrical review, but this is the rare example of a lackluster DC film actually earning appropriately lackluster ticket sales. Yet it still might end up earning a second life on home video thanks to Warner Bros.' quick-turnaround 4K and Blu-ray editions (available separately, with no combo pack option), which both offer proportionately good A/V presentations but only a few bonus features.

Blue Beetle 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

NOTE: This review's screenshots are sourced from the Blu-ray, available separately and reviewed here.

Movies don't have to be good to look good, as showcased by Warner Bros.' tack-sharp 2160p transfer which supports Blue Beetle's native 4K source material nicely. The film's extremely divided production design -- run-down homes and neighborhoods contrasted with the sleek, futuristic city environments, a purposeful theme -- is represented equally well on both sides of the coin, whether it be dreary but warm earth tones or sterile, cool blues with neon-tinged highlights. Costumes, including Blue Beetle's exoskeleton-like suit as well as Carapax's contrasting red one, show off tremendous textural detail and eye-catching reflections, not to mention bright lights and LED displays. Elsewhere, even the darkest interiors like the Kord estate's secret basement come alive with deep shadow detail and illuminated control panels that generate plenty of visual interest. And the paint job on uncle Rudy's Toyota Tacoma™? *Chef's kiss*

Splashy HDR highlights are somewhat reserved, all things considered, although the high-tech environments, detailed screen readouts, and explosive fight sequences benefit from an uptick in color detail and brighter whites, the latter of which will hinge on your display's local dimming capabilities. It plays smoothly from start to finish with no flagrant compression artifacts, such as posterization and macro blocking, thanks to its supportive bit rate. All told, there's not much to say outside of normal "superhero movie" boundaries: Blue Beetle looks as slick and polished as its triple-digit budget suggests, with well-crafted attention to visual detail that carries all the weight its script doesn't.

Blue Beetle 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Dolby Atmos mix is even more of a tour de force, likewise running the gamut for sonic detail in all the expected areas, from the medium to low-end impact of explosions and fight sequences to the enveloping ambiance of crowded locations and noisy family gatherings. Discrete effects are ample and arrive early, such as the helicopter fly-by that opens the film and follows a convincing overhead path on its way forward to the front channels. Dialogue remains crisp and clear throughout, with select patches of Spanish-language dialogue translated via burned-in subtitles to match its theatrical presentation. Overall, it's a booming but well-defined mix that's well worth cranking up.

Optional full subtitles, including English (SDH) are offered during the film and all bonus features listed below.

Blue Beetle 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This release ships in a standard keepcase with poster-themed cover art, a matching metallic slipcover, and a Digital Copy code. Extras are limited to just three featurettes, although one goes into more detail than expected.

• Blue Beetle Generations - Divided into four short and self-explanatory sections, this multi-part promotional piece features interviews with key cast and crew members, behind-the-scenes footage, camera tests, and other items that explore the film's development, shooting, visual FX, costumes, characters, original score, production design, and more. Along with the other two extras, it's not tremendously detailed but very nicely produced with excellent cinematography, slick transition effects, and a 2.39:1 aspect ratio to match the film clips.

• Origins (7:28)
• Production Begins (16:12)
• In Full Flight (9:03)
• A Hero's World (13:24)

• Scarab Vision (2 clips, 13:25 total) - Two separate scene breakdowns; the first ("Initiation") details Jamie's struggles to control his new superpowers, and the second ("Mastery") focuses on his final showdown.

• Blue Beetle's Nana Knows Best (4:21) - A tribute to Jaime's surprisingly badass grandma.

Blue Beetle 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Ángel Manuel Soto's Blue Beetle is a bland and uninspired trip through well-travelled superhero territory that, a few bright moments aside, is one of DC's least essential films in recent memory. Warner Bros.' separate 4K and Blu-ray releases provide support with proportionately rock-solid A/V presentations and a few extras of interest, but I'd only recommend either to those who saw and enjoyed it already. Otherwise, try before you buy at any price.