Starring: Xolo Maridueña, Bruna Marquezine, Belissa Escobedo, Susan Sarandon, George Lopez, Adriana Barraza, Damían Alcázar, Elpidia Carrillo, Raoul Max Trujillo, Belissa Escobedo, Harvey Guillén
OUR RATING: ★★★☆☆
Story:
Superhero action adventure based on characters from DC, directed by Angel Manuel Soto. Blue Beetle (2023) centers on recent college grad Jaime Reyes (Xolo Maridueña), who returns home full of aspirations for his future, only to find that home is not quite as he left it. As he searches to find his purpose, fate intervenes when Jaime unexpectedly finds himself in possession of an ancient relic of alien biotechnology, the Scarab. When the Scarab suddenly chooses Jaime to be its symbiotic host, he is bestowed with an incredible suit of blue armor capable of extraordinary and unpredictable powers, forever changing his destiny.
Where to Watch:
Best Quotes
Jaime Reyes: [as he puts on his graduation cap] Excuse me, sir? How do I look?
Old Man in Airport: Like you’re six figures in debt.
Alberto Reyes: [to Milagro] Even good news sounds like bad news when you deliver it.
Milagro Reyes: You always land on your feet, bro. You’re “Jaime”.
Jaime Reyes: Thank you. But this wasn’t how it was supposed to happen, Mili.
Milagro Reyes: What was supposed to happen?
Jaime Reyes: I was supposed to make it out. I was supposed to get all of us out of here.
Milagro Reyes: Thanks, bro, but I like the Keys.
Jaime Reyes: You know what I meant.
Jaime Reyes: Doesn’t it bother you that they talk about progress and get everything, while we have to sit here and go broke?
Milagro Reyes: You’re a Mexican in Edge Keys, carnal. That progress is not for us. Okay? The poor go over here, and the rich go over there, until the rich want to be here and push us out. We used to have the other side of the tracks, and now they want that too.
Jaime Reyes: I’ll get a job. Not just any job, but a prime job. Yeah, I’m going to get the money to save this place. Don’t look at me at like that. Look, Mili, I’m telling you, in five years, we’re going to be rolling in it. This is just going to be one of our houses. We’re going to have the mansion on the water with the marble everywhere, infinity pool. Yeah, just watch, Mili. Just watch.
Milagro Reyes: Excuse me, Mister Reyes? You finish scraping the gum off that lounger or what?
Jaime Reyes: This is bulls**t.
Milagro Reyes: Wow. “Thanks, Milagro, for hooking me up with this gig.” It’s not my fault your future didn’t turn out the way you wanted.
Jaime Reyes: How am I supposed to get experience when nobody’s going to give me a job?
Milagro Reyes: Sounds like a “you” problem.
Jaime Reyes: Seriously?
Milagro Reyes: What? I’m keeping us employed, you noob!
Jaime Reyes: There goes Victoria Kord.
Milagro Reyes: Look at that walk. She’s kind of sexy in like a Cruella Kardashian sort of way.
Milagro Reyes: [referring to Victoria] We’re invisible to people like that, Jaime. It’s like our superpower.
'We're on a journey. Everything. They're just a stop in the journey. But this isn't the destination.' - Alberto Reyes (Blue Beetle) Share on X
Jaime Reyes: Where are we going?
Milagro Reyes: Got to take a s**t, bro. Need you to be a lookout.
Jaime Reyes: Wait, but the service restrooms are out there.
Milagro Reyes: Yeah, and I deserve a luxury dump right now, alright?
Jaime Reyes: [referring to Victoria] What a d**k, right?
Milagro Reyes: She’s a Kord. They’re all d**ks.
Jenny Kord: Jenny Kord. We’re not all d**ks.
Milagro Reyes: [to Jaime, referring to Jenny] She took one look at your young Mexican a**, hero-of-the-moment vibe and was into it. Hey, you know what? Maybe she’ll pull you out of poverty like Maria la del Barrio. Except, she’s the rich white dude and you’re the Maria!
Jaime Reyes: It’s just everything right now feels so out of reach, and I feel like I failed you guys.
Alberto Reyes: We’re on a journey, Jaime. This house, the nopales, el auto shop. Everything. They’re just a stop in the journey. But this isn’t the destination.
Jaime Reyes: And what is it?
Alberto Reyes: I don’t know. What’s important is that we go on this journey together. Things don’t last. La familia, that’s forever. That lasts.
Alberto Reyes: Everyone has a purpose. You just haven’t found yours.
Jaime Reyes: So what’s your purpose then?
Alberto Reyes: I’m still searching too. But right now, it’s this. Talking to you, right here.
'Things don't last. La familia, that's forever. That lasts.' - Alberto Reyes (Blue Beetle) Share on X
Rocio Reyes: [as Jaime shows up at Kord Tower for a job] You’re going to be okay, flaquito. You belong here.
Rudy Reyes: Yeah, cabezon. You look like an a**hole just like everybody else here.
Jenny Kord: You said you’d do anything, right?
Jaime Reyes: Yeah. Basically, anything.
Jenny Kord: [gives Jaime the Scarab hidden inside a burger box] Here. Guard that with your life. But do not open it. Do not touch it! Don’t even look at it!
Jaime Reyes: Okay. I’m just going to guard it with my life.
Jenny Kord: Yeah, you’re a quick learner.
Milagro Reyes: So, you went in to get us jobs, and all you brought back was a hamburger?
Jaime Reyes: Okay. I don’t think it’s a burger.
Milagro Reyes: You haven’t looked?
Jaime Reyes: She said not to open it.
Alberto Reyes: [after opening the box to reveal the Scarab which looks like a blue beetle] Why was she hiding it?
Jaime Reyes: I don’t know.
Milagro Reyes: It’s kind of a letdown.
Rudy Reyes: The world’s biggest tick.
'We're resilient people. Life will continue to hit us with curve balls, and the difference is, when we get hit, we get stronger.' - Rudy Reyes (Blue Beetle) Share on X
Milagro Reyes: [referring to the Scarab] How did you get it to do that?
Jaime Reyes: I don’t know. Ama. I think it likes me.
Jaime Reyes: [as the Scarab jumps onto his face] What the hell! It doesn’t like me!
Rudy Reyes: Jaime, it’s on your face! It’s on your face!
Jaime Reyes: Get it off!
Jaime Reyes: [referring to the Scarab] Oh, my God! It’s inside of me!
Milagro Reyes: Inside you? How?
Rudy Reyes: [in Spanish] It went up his a**!
Khaji-Da: Host acquired.
Jaime Reyes: Who said that?
Khaji-Da: System configuration initializing.
Jaime Reyes: [to his family] Wait. You don’t hear that?
Rudy Reyes: Don’t look at him in the eyes.
Jaime Reyes: Oh, man, I’m in space.
Jaime Reyes: [to Khaji-Da] Listen to me! You’ve got the wrong guy! I swear! I’m a nobody!
'That love that I have for my family, that's what makes me strong.' - Jaime Reyes (Blue Beetle) Share on X
Jaime Reyes: Why are you doing this to me?
Khaji-Da: Host overreacting.
Jaime Reyes: Overreacting? You kidnapped me!
Rocio Reyes: [over phone] Let me explain that again. He’s technically not a missing person, but he is missing. But also, he is…
Rudy Reyes: Possessed!
Rudy Reyes: Hey, Jaime, keep that blanket now that it touched your chorizo.
Jaime Reyes: [to himself] What is going on? You can’t fly. You can’t fly. Superman can fly.
'Everyone has a purpose.' - Alberto Reyes (Blue Beetle) Share on X
Rocio Reyes: Jaime, what happened? Where did you go?
Jaime Reyes: Ama, I don’t know. I think I cut a bus in half.
Rocio Reyes: Cut what?
Jaime Reyes: And then, and flew into orbit.
Rudy Reyes: What do you think Kord’s going to do when they figure out that some Mexican kid has that type of military tech inside of him? They’re going to lock his a** up. And then they’re going to wipe our minds, so that we don’t tell anybody. And it’s not like the government isn’t used to locking up Mexicans anyways. I mean, this is sci-fi s**t. This is CIA. This is Area 51!
Jaime Reyes: [referring to Jenny] Besides, what if she’s in danger?
Rocio Reyes: What if she’s in danger? Jaime, you flew out of the roof.
Jaime Reyes: You don’t understand.
Rudy Reyes: He’s into her.
Milagro Reyes: Oh, he totally is.
Jaime Reyes: [referring to the Scarab embedded in his back] So itchy, this thing.
Rudy Reyes: What are you doing here? Thinking about turning our house into a nuclear power plant? I went swimming out there by where your family has that company. My testicles are seven times their normal size. Shouldn’t you be pillaging cobalt from some developing country or something, Jenny?
Milagro Reyes: [as they see the Scarab embedded in Jaime’s back] Oh, I forgot how bad it looks.
Nana Reyes: [in Spanish] Gross! Cover that up!
Rocio Reyes: No. It doesn’t look that bad.
Rudy Reyes: I’ve seen worse.
Milagro Reyes: Where?
Rudy Reyes: You don’t want to know.
Jaime Reyes: What the hell is this thing?
Jenny Kord: It’s called the Scarab. It was given to my dad when I was a kid. It’s some of kind of world-destroying weapon.
Jaime Reyes: Oh, that’s nice.
Milagro Reyes: Did you know what was going to happen to my brother, when you stuck him with this world-destroying thing?
Jenny Kord: No. I swear to you, I had no idea this would happen. My father said it can’t be activated by just any person. It has to choose you. So I’m guessing it’s chosen you.
Rudy Reyes: No more blind dates.
Jaime Reyes: Okay. So, how do we get it to unchoose me?
Alberto Reyes: Come on, we are the Reyes. We’ve dealt with harder things.
Rudy Reyes: We have?
Jenny Kord: To be honest, I didn’t think the Chapulin would work.
Jaime Reyes: Yeah, that’s Rudy. He’s like the Mexican Doc Brown.
Jenny Kord: No kidding.
Jaime Reyes: [referring to Carapax] Let me talk to him.
Khaji-Da: Verbal communication is ill-advised in a combat scenario.
Khaji-Da: Permission to take over host.
Jaime Reyes: Yes! Anything!
Khaji-Da: Watch and learn, Jaime.
Jaime Reyes: We don’t have to kill him.
Khaji-Da: Eliminating threat.
Jaime Reyes: Are you even listening to me?
Khaji-Da: Eliminating threat.
Jaime Reyes: Stop! I’m not a killer.
Khaji-Da: Command accepted.
Carapax: [to Jaime] You should have finished me when you had the chance.
Jaime Reyes: Please, just don’t hurt my family.
Carapax: The love you feel for your family, makes you weak.
Rudy Reyes: Does anybody in this town know how to drive?
Jaime Reyes: What the hell is Blue Beetle?
Rudy Reyes: Oh, you were a kid. It’s like Palmera’s superhero. Like Superman in Metropolis, or the Flash in Central City. But just, I don’t know, maybe just not as good.
Rudy Reyes: [referring to Ted Kord] I can’t believe he was the Blue Beetle. Oh, I get it though. Eccentric billionaire, a genius.
Jaime Reyes: How come this stuff doesn’t look more like…
Jenny Kord: Nicer? Less ridiculous?
Jaime Reyes: No. But I mean, like look at this. It’s like Batman’s stuff, but like if he had ADHD or something.
Rudy Reyes: Batman’s a fascist. The Blue Beetle, he had a sense of humor.
Rudy Reyes: Damn, you stink.
Jaime Reyes: This is your shirt.
Jaime Reyes: Jeez. When is this day going to end?
Jenny Kord: [to Jaime] You’re really lucky. This house is it’s full of stuff. Your house is full of love. A family. That’s a home.
Jenny Kord: You’re a good listener.
Jaime Reyes: My mom says it’s because I got big ears.
Rudy Reyes: It’s trying to become one with you.
Jaime Reyes: Why?
Rudy Reyes: I think you should ask it yourself. I mean, this thing has its own will.
Jenny Kord: It’s sentient. That’s why it chooses a host. That’s why sometimes, it does what you want, and sometimes, it doesn’t.
Rudy Reyes: This wasn’t made on Earth, cabezon.
Jaime Reyes: No way.
Rudy Reyes: Si way.
Jenny Kord: It’s alien.
Rudy Reyes: Yeah. I don’t really like the term “alien”.
Rudy Reyes: I got good news and I got bad news. The good news is, I figured out how to get it out.
Jaime Reyes: Fine.
Rudy Reyes: And the bad news is that you have to be dead.
Jaime Reyes: What?
Jenny Kord: It’s designed to protect its host. To keep it alive.
Jaime Reyes: So you’re saying that this thing’s in me forever?
Rudy Reyes: No, it’s not forever. I mean, it’s just until you die. I think it’s kind of cool. No, I mean, basically, you are a superhero, cabron.
Jaime Reyes: So then what are my options now? So, option one is to become an android for the rest of my life. Or option two is to hand myself over to a murderous billionaire psychopath? All I wanted was a job.
Rudy Reyes: [to Jaime] It’s not lost on me that your situation is a little bit out of the ordinary. We’re resilient people. Life will continue to hit us with curve balls, and the difference is, when we get hit, we get stronger.
Rudy Reyes: The universe has sent you a gift, Jaime. And you have to figure out what you’re going to do with it. Maybe this did all happen for a reason. Maybe it’s time that we get our own hero. And not just some foot up our a**. Hey, but what do I know, huh? I’m just some failed promise that sleeps in his brother’s living room.
Jaime Reyes: Don’t say that, man. You’re not a failed promise. Come on, you’re the s**t! You know it.
Rudy Reyes: I am the s**t.
Jaime Reyes: [as he’s trying activate the Scarab] You’re a genius.
Rudy Reyes: I know. But what did I say?
Jaime Reyes: You said this things is going to protect me, right? It’s not going to let me die?
Rudy Reyes: No. No. I mean, when you die? I wouldn’t test it.
Jaime Reyes: Alright. Let’s see if it works.
Jenny, Rudy: No! No! No!
[Jaime jumps off the roof and the suit activates]
Jaime Reyes: I could use that arsenal right about now!
Khaji-Da: Thought you’d never ask.
Jaime Reyes: Hell, yeah!
Khaji-Da: They have a weapon. I suggest we retreat.
Jaime Reyes: No way. They attack my family, we’re going to finish this.
Nana Reyes: [after Alberto dies and Jaime is captured, in Spanish] We have to help Jaime. We don’t have time for self-pity. We must rescue Jaime. That’s what his father would have wanted. Listen, I know how you feel, but we have to be brave. There will be a time to cry. This is not that time. We have turned both cheeks. Now is the time to fight.
Milagro Reyes: [referring to the weapon] Nana? Hey. How do you know how to hold that so perfectly?
Nana Reyes: [in Spanish] There’s plenty you don’t know about your Nana.
Rocio Reyes: Mili, one day, we going to have to talk about Nana’s revolutionary past.
Milagro Reyes: Her what?
Dr. Sanchez: [referring to Jaime] It could kill him.
Victoria Kord: Oh, bummer. Well, but sacrifices have to be made for the greater good. And this is yours, Jaime Reyes.
Victoria Kord: Do it, Sanchez.
Dr. Sanchez: Well, with all due respect, my name, again, is not Sanchez.
Bug Ship: Activating bug fart.
Alberto Reyes: [as Jaime is in the realm between life and death] I understand everything now. My destiny was to be here with you. In this moment. To help you cross into it. The universe knows it’s you. I know it’s you. You know it as well. The Scarab has chosen you for a reason. This is your purpose.
Alberto Reyes: It’s time for you to accept your destiny, Jaime.
Jaime Reyes: How am I going to do this without you?
Alberto Reyes: [in Spanish] I’ll always be with you.
Jaime Reyes: How am I going to know what to do?
Alberto Reyes: [points to Jaime’s heart, in Spanish] All the answers are here.
Victoria Kord: Sanchez, you moron. What are you doing?
Dr. Sanchez: My name is not Sanchez, pendeja! It’s Jose Francisco Morales Rivera de la Cruz!
Rocio Reyes: I know you can hear me, Khaji-Da. I want you both to get it together. Find your strength, mijito. Use the pain we’re feeling and turn it into power. I want you to go back in there and kick their a**es!
Jaime Reyes: [as he’s fighting Carapax] Scratch my back? Well, I’ll scratch yours.
Jaime Reyes: So I can make whatever weapons I want, huh?
Khaji-Da: Whatever you can imagine, I can create.
Jaime Reyes: [creates a machete with his suit] Let’s party.
Khaji-Da: Nice choice.
Victoria Kord: You’re going to side with that Edge Key trash over your own family?
Jenny Kord: That Edge Key trash knows more about family than you ever will.
Khaji-Da: [as Jaime is beating Carapax] We are not killers, Jaime. Let him go.
Jaime Reyes: What about Dad? What about Rudy?
Jaime Reyes: [to Carapax] You’re wrong. That love that I have for my family, that’s what makes me strong.
Carapax: [to Victoria] Sacrifices must be made for the greater good.
Jenny Kord: I think it’s time to return the Edge Keys to the people that made it great.
Rudy Reyes: Sounds like the Reyes family’s rubbing off a little bit on Jenny Kord, no?
Jenny Kord: Kord has a lot to learn from the Edge Keys. Starting with you, Rudy.
Rudy Reyes: Wait a minute, did you tell her to say that?
Jaime Reyes: Rudy, I didn’t say s**t.
Rudy Reyes: That sounds like something that you would say to her to tell me.
Jaime Reyes: What if I gave you a ride?
Jenny Kord: How?
Khaji-Da: I feel a surge of blood rushing towards your mid-region.
Jaime Reyes: Stop!
Jaime Reyes: [to Jenny] No, no, no. Not you.
Jenny Kord: Oh. What’s it saying?
Jaime Reyes: [as they kiss] Nothing.
Ted Kord: [mid-credits lines] Oh, my God. It’s working. Okay. Whoever turned on my computer, get a message to my daughter, Jenny. Jenny Kord. Please, tell her that I love her, and that I’m sorry, and her dad is alive. Ted Kord is alive.
