This is one of those comic book films that at first seemed like it was going to be silly. For the first several minutes I was thinking it was going to be ridiculous and a waste of time. But I was wrong. Blue Beetle is actually quite entertaining, especially because it introduces a new superhero, Blue Beetle, who is kind of like Iron-Man, Ant-Man, and Spiderman all rolled into one.

Our new superhero is a young guy named Jaime Reyes (played by Xolo Maridueña). Jaime is a college grad whose family has a lot of financial problems. He does what he can to find a job and his lucky day comes when an alien scarab chooses him, and he becomes … Blue Beetle!

The film gives a good backstory to the powers of its hero, how he gains the powers very unexpectedly and so quickly. This gives a very good foundation, for what makes Blue Beetle who he is, and for the storyline to come. There are plenty of enemies and people to save for the hero in the film. But background in superhero films serves a bigger purpose than all kinds of CGI action and violence, which often seems to be more about profit than entertainment.

The characterizations and writing in Blue Beetle are solid and steady, the structure works, and Maridueña makes a very intriguing and invigorating superhero with excellent fundamentals. It’s great that he’s so young. He almost seems like he could become another hero like Spiderman. The film also brings some nostalgia that fans of superhero movies have not seen in a long time. The scenario of debt is also unique to superhero movies. The film transitions to the risky business of wealth and deceit, a new structure for a superhero film.

Blue Beetle is also jam-packed with robot joy, and the robot action really helped hold my attention. There are not many films that can pull that off much better than Blue Beetle.

The film is not perfect, and it does lack in some of its components. The deliveries were a little cheesy at times and some of the moments didn’t really make sense or add up. But the superhero vibe and the introductions to our new superhero is where Blue Beetle is top-notch. There are hidden connections that correlate to other aspects of the film, there are moments of truth in many corners, and Blue Beetle becomes the only one who can overcome the unexpected dangers that add to the fun of the film. So Blue Beetle is definitely entertaining and I’m glad that I took the time to watch this flick. I predict a bright future going forward for this superhero. Three out of four stars for Blue Beetle.