Blue Beetle (2023)
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The story
After graduating from college, Jaime Reyes returns to his hometown of Palmera City only to find his family facing financial hardship. While working at the mansion of the wealthy Victoria Kord, Jaime is tasked with handling a mysterious package. When he opens it, an ancient alien artifact known as the Scarab fuses with his body, granting him superhuman abilities and a sentient exoskeleton. Now, Jaime must navigate his new reality as a hero while dealing with the consequences of the Scarab's activation and the looming threats from those who seek to control its power.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In Antarctica, Victoria Kord's company finds the Scarab, an ancient alien artifact. Jaime Reyes, a recent graduate, takes a job at Victoria's mansion to help his family. A woman named Jenny Kord gives him the Scarab, which fuses with him, creating a sentient exoskeleton named Khaji-Da. Jaime and Jenny team up to stop Victoria from using the Scarab for her OMAC projects. During a confrontation, Jaime's father, Alberto, dies of a heart attack. Jaime is captured and taken to an island fortress near Cuba, where he experiences a vision from his father to embrace his destiny. He eventually escapes and reunites with his family. He faces off against the villainous Ignacio Carapax, whose suit is powered by the Scarab. After learning of Carapax's tragic past, Jaime spares him, leading Carapax to destroy the island and himself to stop Victoria. In the aftermath, Jenny becomes the new CEO of Kord Industries, and Jaime accepts his role as the new Blue Beetle.
- First release year
- 2023
- Runtime (minutes)
- 127
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English; Spanish
- Directors
- Ángel Manuel Soto
- Writers
- Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer · writer
- Cast and characters
- Xolo Maridueña · Jaime Reyes / Blue Beetle; Adriana Barraza · Nana; Damián Alcázar · Alberto Reyes; Elpidia Carrillo · Rocio Reyes; Bruna Marquezine · Jenny Kord; Raoul Max Trujillo · Ignacio Carapax / OMAC; Susan Sarandon · Victoria Kord; George Lopez · Rudy Reyes
- Genres
- superhero; action; science fiction
- Themes
- family; cultural identity; heroism
- Tone and mood
- action-packed; grounded
- Premise and plot tags
- superhero origin; alien technology; multigenerational family
- Source material / true-story basis
- DC Comics
- Franchise connections
- DC Extended Universe (DCEU)
- Reception
- The film received generally positive reviews from critics and became the most-watched film on HBO Max in the United States, though it underperformed at the box office.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 61 · scale: 100 · review count: 52; CinemaScore · score: B+ · scale: A+ to F; PostTrak · score: 82% · scale: percentage
- Awards and nominations
- Best Superhero Film · Saturn Awards · nominated; Best Younger Performer in a Film · Saturn Awards · won; Emerging Technology Award · Visual Effects Society Awards · nominated
- Production trivia
- The film is the first live-action superhero film with a Latino lead.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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