REVIEW: 'Blue Beetle' scores with family, not smushable plot

There’s a good movie lurking in “Blue Beetle.” It’s just not one about a Spider-Man-like superhero.

What resonates is the Blue Beetle’s family -- a loyal Mexican clan that stands by its college grad when he’s infected by an ancient scarab that turns him into a fighting machine. Mom, dad, sis, Uncle Rudy and grandma rev up to help Jaime (Xolo Mariduena) get the bad boy out of his system and into the light of day.

Naturally, there’s a rich tech company behind the concept, hoping to turn men into warriors just by letting the scarab loose. Jenny Kord (Bruna Marquezine), the heiress of Kord Industries, isn’t keen on the idea but her ravenous aunt Victoria (Susan Sarandon) is. Before a job interview, Jenny passes Jaime the scarab and soon the race is on.

While Jaime learns what the ancient amulet can do (in fairly funny ways), Jenny keeps her aunt at bay. Naturally, Victoria fumes like Maleficent in “Sleeping Beauty” and won’t stop until she gets the man -- or the scarab.

Directed by Angel Manuel Soto, “Blue Beetle” has a cheap look that undermines its more interesting story of family. Uncle Rudy (George Lopez) has a conspiracy theory for everything; nana (Adriana Barraza) has a way with firearms that trumps all.

“Blue Beetle” leans into a world that doesn’t get much exposure outside the Spanish-language market. It could have embraced it entirely and left the Tony Stark trappings to others. When Soto tries to foist a relationship between Jaimie and Jenny on us, we can see someone got skittish about making this an original film about a common man thrust in an uncommon situation.

Mariduena handles the humor well -- he’s very funny before the transformation -- and gets an emotional boost that keeps this from becoming another “Tick.”

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Still, going down the Tick’s path might have been a better approach. When Victoria hovers in all sorts of transportation, you can see how truly low-rent “Blue Beetle” is. Sarandon connects the necessary dots and gives us a villain to hiss but Marquezine is hardly the heir you’d want to move the company in a more positive direction. She’s stiff with Mariduena, even worse with his family.

That creates a problem -- particularly since this could have been the “Encanto” of superhero films. It opens the door to new cultures and approaches. It doesn’t necessarily throw out the welcome mat.

While younger audiences may enjoy the transformation scenes, there’s a dark moment or two with Victoria’s bodyguard that should give them pause. It sends mixed signals about company loyalty and confirms many of Uncle Rudy’s suspicions.

Should there be subsequent “Beetle” adventures, DC needs to figure out where the character lands. Does he belong with Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman? Or is he in a world of his own, where bad guys wear designer suits and grandma packs heat?

Clearly, the family that supports its superhero is the take we really haven’t seen.

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