While sitting in the theater to watch Blue Beetle with 3 of my kids, I looked over at them and said, “think this will be good?” My 17-year-old shrugged. My 11-year-old, who is a big fan of the Blue Beetle comic books, excitedly said, “yes.” My 8-year-old, who has a good time everywhere she goes, smiled and said, “I think it will be great.” Of course, she would have said that about anything. I had very low expectations for Blue Beetle.
There’s been some stinkers lately within the Superhero genre. Especially from the DC Universe. Having another bug superhero seemed like a bad idea. While sitting in the theater, I tried to clear my head of preconceived thoughts of how the Blue Beetle movie would turn out.
The Blue Beetle is about an alien scarab technology that makes its way to Earth. The alien technology can create intense weapons that could wipe out an army. The catch is, the scarab chooses who it wants to connect with. It ends up connecting with Jaime Reyes (played by Xolo Mariduena), a recent college graduate who finds out that his family is on the verge of losing their home and everything else they’ve worked for.
The family dynamic is the best part of the Blue Beetle film. George Lopez plays Jamie’s uncle and supplies laughs every time he’s on screen. The rest of the family is equally funny. Blue Beetle is a family comedy in a superhero movie.
After the movie, I asked my kids what they thought. The consensus was that it’s better than everyone imagined it would be and it was a fun movie to watch on the screen. It’s a breath of fresh air for the superhero genre. Sometimes, we want our superhero movies to be more adult and forget how we felt when watching Christopher Reeve fly or Michael Keaton state, “I’m Batman.” I’m not saying Jaime Reyes and the Blue Beetle are on par with those movies, but it this movie goes back to the genre’s basics and makes the characters fun and with heart.
Is the Blue Beetle appropriate for kids?
Parents know best what movies are acceptable for their own kids and know their tolerances. There’s death and fighting in the Blue Beetle and some bad language. Nothing extreme. It is rated PG-13 and I believe that’s a good rating. It isn’t as intense as other superhero movies over the past decade. There are moments that might frighten younger viewers. My 8-year-old was fine throughout the movie.