Blue Beetle is one of DC’s last attempts to give their fans some hope. The comic book company has been struggling ever since they cut ties with Zack Snyder as their cinematic universe lacks clear vision and direction. The new film has opened up to great reviews. The first reactions of the film were delightful but they always are, for any film. As the embargo lifted yesterday critics made their thoughts official and Blue Beetle debuted on Rotten Tomatoes with one of the best scores for a DC movie. Continue reading below if you want to know what critics are praising the film for.
Blue Beetle Reviews Round-Up: The Perfect Crowd Pleaser!
Well, the first trailer of the film was well received and the early reviews by critics hailed it as one of the greatest and most heartfelt DC films ever made. But now is the moment of truth as the actual reviews are now in and the embargo has lifted. The film debuted with a score of 82% of Rotten Tomatoes which has now fallen to 79% based on 123 reviews. While its certainly not the best of DC, it sure is among the highest rated DCEU/DCU films. Here’s what critics have to say
Jake Coyle (Associated Press) – Even if 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. Original Score: 2.5/4
Maya Phillips (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.
Nicholas Barber (BBC.com) – For every mention of revolutionary direct action, there is a scene with a stereotypical trope, so I’m not convinced that the film takes a major step forward in terms of representation. Original Score: 2/5
Donald Clarke (Irish Times) – Whereas Jaimie may come from a different place to most heroes of superhero flicks, nothing sets the Blue Beetle itself apart from the dozens of competing magical brawlers we have endured over the past two decades. Original Score: 3/5
Michael O’Sullivan (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. Original Score: 2.5/4
Robert Daniels (RogerEbert.com) – This heartwarming, crowd-pleasing comic book flick is less serious and more colorful than the tonally dour mood of many contemporary superhero films. Original Score: 3/4
Michael Phillips (Chicago Tribune) – Blue Beetle works, basically, and that puts it ahead of the game for most DC Comics-derived movies. Original Score: 3/4
Tim Robey {Daily Telegraph (UK)} – The emotional beats are strenuous yawns, the crashing lack of novelty disguised desperately, but not well. It’s dim, and it’s dull. Original Score: 1/5
Clarisse Loughrey {Independent (UK)} – Blue Beetle is broad and endearingly kid-friendly in its humor. It is also precise in its homages to Mexican culture. Original Score: 3/5
Justin Lowe (AV Club) – The filmmakers and the SFX team have created a memorable visual style for the film, supported by a wide array of Latino talent that underpins the authenticity of the narrative and the visuals. Original Score: B-
Richard Roeper (Chicago Sun-Times) – This is a mostly by-the-numbers origin story with underwhelming VFX, a disappointingly cartoonish villain and a final battle sequence and epilogue that follow the pattern of a dozen or more previous superhero origin stories. Original Score: 2.5/4
Fionnuala Halligan (Screen International) – 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.
David Jenkins (Little White Lies) – Not sure I’d need to see it again, or be excited for a sequel, but makes for a nice partner feature with the great Alita: Battle Angel. Original Score: 3/5
David Fear (Rolling Stone) – 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.
Brian Truitt (USA Today) – The DC movie universe has been holding out for a hero, and it might just be a 22-year-old Mexican college grad with a really cool family. Original Score: 3/4
Bob Strauss (San Francisco Chronicle) –
This movie’s Latin flavor feels fresh, with welcome bits of political bite and funny takes on the genre’s over-familiar conventions. Original Score: 3/4
Jake Kleinman (Inverse) – 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.
Kristy Puchko (Mashable) – 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.
Kaely Monahan (Arizona Republic) – It’s lighter, more fun, and delivers the jokes, bright colors and nods to ridiculousness that you want from a superhero movie. And speaking of the superhero, the Blue Beetle emerges as relatable and easy to cheer for.
Yolanda Machado (Entertainment Weekly) – Blue Beetle never loses sight of the community it seeks to honor, not once pandering nor offering surface-level representation of what it means to be Latino. Original Score: B+
Jordan Hoffman (The Messenger) – An unessential superhero entry into the win column. Original Score: 6.6/10
Alonso Duralde (The Film Verdict) – 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.
Benjamin Lee (Guardian) – There’s a perkiness that’s hard to resist and a base-level competency that’s hard not to appreciate, a small beam of blue light in an otherwise dark time for superheroes. Original Score: 3/5
David Ehrlich (indieWire) – For a film that incessantly natters on about Jaime’s purpose, “Blue Beetle” has bafflingly little sense of what its own might be. Original Score: C
David Rooney (Hollywood Reporter) – A bug worth catching.
William Bibbiani (TheWrap) – A self-contained and smartly crafted film that ranks among the DCEU’s very best. Even though, admittedly, that doesn’t say nearly as much as it ought to.
Nick Schager (The Daily Beast) – Arguably the most derivative offering the tired genre has yet to offer, borrowing elements from so many forebearers that it plays like a conventional pastiche.
Owen Gleiberman (Variety) – The brisk, cheeky, unabashed gizmo-happy triviality of “Blue Beetle,” a superhero origin story from the DC side of the tracks, is enough to make the film feel like a breath of fresh pulp.
Blue Beetle is scheduled to be released in theatres near you on August 18, 2023.
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