Critics and audiences enjoy Blue Beetle, but will anyone see it?

It’s time for another movie in the DC Cinematic Universe, the franchise that brought you hits like Wonder Woman and Aqauman and also bombs like The Flash and Shazam: Fury of the Gods. And those are the studio’s two most recent films. The franchise has been floundering for a while, so much so that Warner Bros. Discovery has brought in James Gunn and Peter Safran to do a complete revamp. Where does Blue Beetle, the new movie, fit into that scheme?

That will probably depend on how many people see it. According to Variety, the movie — which stars Xolo Maridueña as a young superhero — is on track for a $30 million opening weekend. That’s not bad, but it’s also about what Shazam 2 scored on its first weekend and well short of what The Flash pulled in, and as mentioned, both of those movies bombed. Can Blue Beetle beat the odds?

According to professional critics and fans alike, the movie is decent: over on Rotten Tomatoes, it has a 79% positive rating from critics and a 95% rating from audiences. That’s not bad!…but The Flash had decent reviews too and it still tanked.

Look, Blue Beetle has an uphill battle ahead of it, there’s no point in denying. Let’s see what critics are saying.

Critics like Blue Beetle, but they’re not thrilled

Like most outlets, New York Post enjoyed the movie, although it recognized that it’s coming at a precarious time for the studio: “Blue Beetle arrives as DC is struggling to stay alive after a series of flops, cleaning house and revamping its famous comic book titles to course correct. In all the turnover, they’d be smart to keep Jaime Reyes and Xolo Maridueña around.”

A lot of the critics seemed to be damning the movie with faint praise. They enjoyed it, but there’s always some kind of qualifier in there. For instance:

• Empire Magazine: “In broad story-and-action terms, there really isn’t much here that feels fresh… But Blue Beetle makes one smart decision that saves its shiny cerulean ass: it brings Jaime’s family along for the ride.”
• ChicagoTribune: “Blue Beetle works, basically, and that puts it ahead of the game for most DC Comics-derived movies.”
• Boston Globe: ““Blue Beetle” is a watchable time-waster made better by the actors and the cinematography by Pawel Pogorzelski.”
• Peter Travers of ABC News: “The thrills in the first Latino superhero epic are mostly generic but the personal relationships between protagonist Jaime Reyes (a charming Xolo Maridueña) and his irresistibly rowdy and resilient relatives make all the difference. Viva la familia!”

Okay, Peter.

If you’re looking for a more plainly positive review, you can hit up Queer.Horror.Movies: “This is a crowd-pleaser: entertaining, with a healthy dose of comedy, reasonably solid action set-pieces, and, most significantly, heartfelt performances. It’s just a genuinely good time at the movies.”

Winding down, Wion calls Blue Beetle “a mostly entertaining, low-stakes romp that is a refreshing anomaly in an overstuffed genre,” while RogerEbert.com says that it’s “less serious and more colorful than the tonally dour mood of many contemporary superhero films.”

So overall, folk like it. Many point out that the family story is the highlight. But it has detractors as well:

Is there a reason to see Blue Beetle if you’re already sick of superheroes?

Blue Beetle is probably a good time at the movies, but there have been a lot of good superhero movies to come out over the past 15 years. Is it worth seeing if you’re sick of this stuff?

According to some critics, not really:

• Seattle Times: “It’s lightweight and over-amped. Diverting but ultimately, forgettable.”
• WORLD: “Aside from the jokes, there’s not much to this derivative origin story full of cliches. It feels like a cross between Venom and Spider-Man: Homecoming. There’s certainly not enough to Blue Beetle to dispel the superhero fatigue audiences are feeling.”
• The New York Times: “This unremarkable story, along with cheap-looking visual effects and Soto’s colorless direction, is a prime example of somnambulist filmmaking that lulls the audience into a mindless stupor.”
• Washington Post: “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.”
• The Times: “Blue Beetle is the latest product off the superhero production line and it’s as tediously familiar as rail strikes and rainy Augusts.”

Personally, I have a hard believing that Blue Beetle will be able to draw audiences to the movie theater when so many people are getting tired of superheroes. But who knows? In the interest of ending on a positive note, here’s the Associated Press: “If even a low-stakes, fairly derivative superhero movie like this can charm thanks to its warm Hispanic perspective and winning supporting cast, there’s plenty of hope yet for the genre — bugs and all.”

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