Angel Manuel Soto’s Blue Beetle is a movie in need of either time travel or access to an alternate dimension – and I don’t mean as plot elements. If the new DC Studios release had access to time travel, it could change its release date to pre-2008, rendering its big screen origin story as fresh and new. If the feature had access to some kind of multiverse portal, it could find a universe where comic book blockbusters are seen as exclusively for children and don’t expect investment from more mature audiences. In those contexts, the film could work quite well… but those aren’t the contexts in which it is being released. Instead, it’s a title that will only serve to further discussions about “superhero fatigue” in modern pop culture, and while very young kids may get a kick out of it, teens and adults will be rolling their eyes.
Release Date: August 18, 2023
Directed By: Angel Manuel Soto
Written By: Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer
Starring: Xolo Maridueña, Bruna Marquezine, Belissa Escobedo, Damián Alcázar, Raoul Max Trujillo, Susan Sarandon, Adriana Barraza, and George Lopez
Rating: PG-13 for sequences of action and violence, language, and some suggestive references
Runtime: 127 minutes
