With the advent of technology, the modern superhero movie genre seems to be a bit saturated. However, amidst the sea of similar, VFX-induced films, there is one movie that decided to stray away from the norm. The recently released Blue Beetle emerged as a success, delivering a mix of 1980s-style visual effects. Moreover, with a much more grounded narrative, actor Xolo Maridueña stood out in the titular role of Hollywood’s first Latino comic-book superhero.
Evidently, after the release of superhero movies like The Flash and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, fans have been troubled with questions about the state of comic-book movie fatigue, especially in terms of their creative appeal. While it’s true that projects like Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse have turned out to be successes, the superhero movie genre is still desperately in need of a fresh spin.
But is Blue Beetle a critical success or just better than the recent DC films?
It’s true that Blue Beetle brought a breath of fresh air with its fun approach. Following the story of a recent college graduate Jaime Reyes, portrayed by Xolo Maridueña, the movie is set in a futuristic locale that is home to an immigrant family. Based on the DC superhero story Blue Beetle, the story revealed how Reyes transitions into the superhero character Blue Beetle.
However, although fans enjoyed the new lighthearted take of director Ángel Manuel Soto and screenwriter Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer in the movie, a few critics believed Blue Beetle to be a mindless stupor. With mixed reviews, the movie managed to earn an 83% rating on Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer.
While many appreciated Maridueña’s acting skills and youthful enthusiasm, some others believed that the movie was simply a mashup of a dozen other superhero films. But irrespective of the mixed reviews received by the film, fans could not stop themselves from comparing the latest DC film to the recent Ezra Miller project The Flash and other DC movies.
Fans compare Blue Beetle with The Flash disaster
After DC’s much-anticipated movie, The Flash hit the theatres, fans, and critics could not believe the weird and underwhelming CGI and VFX on the screen. With characters looking inhuman in certain scenes to distorted backgrounds, the $200 million budget movie left the viewers disappointed.
Although The Flash director Andy Muschietti claimed that the bad VFX and CGI were actually intentional, fans could not stop themselves from criticizing it on social media.
“The idea, of course, is… we are in the perspective of the Flash. Everything is distorted in terms of lights and textures. We enter this ‘waterworld’ which is basically being in Barry’s POV. It was part of the design so if it looks a little weird to you that was intended.”
But with the release of Blue Beetle, it seems that DC is finally moving in the right direction – that is towards making movies that match the viewer’s preferences. Comparing Blue Beetle with The Flash and other DC disasters, fans wrote on Twitter,
READ MORE: Blue Beetle: Every Version of the DCU Superhero Explained Including Xolo Maridueña’s Jaime Reyes
After a screening on August 15, 2023, Blue Beetle is officially scheduled for release on August 18, 2023. Fans can catch up on the allegedly superior VFX and lighthearted storytelling at their nearest theatres.
Source: Variety, Rotten Tomatoes
