Blue Beetle is DC Films and Warner Bros latest comic book adaptation. The aptly titled film is based on a character from 1939 that was reintroduced in 2006. The Blue Beetle gets their abilities from a mystical alien scarab. The scarab attaches to the host and turns into a suit. The wide-range of abilities granted by the scarab allows the host to do everything from fighting crime to flying in space. Think of it as an alien Iron Man suit mixed with Green Lantern’s powers.

This Blue Beetle tale is Jaime Reye’s origin story. After graduating college, Jaime (Xolo Mariduena) returns home to Palmera. In search of a job to support his family, Jaime goes to Kord Industries to meet with Jenny (Bruna Marquezine) about a perspective job. Meanwhile, Victoria (Susan Sarandon) is using the alien Beetle technology for OMAC (One-Man Army Corps) to land Kord Industries a contract with militaries and security defenses around the world. Unhappy Victoria has secretly restarted an aborted project; Jenny steals the Beetle and gives it to Jaime for safe keeping without telling him what it is.

After returning home, Jaime opens the box. Once he touches the scarab, it attaches itself and covers Jaime in a superhero looking blue suit. The computer system (voiced by Becky G) speaks to Jaime and controls what the suit can/can’t do.

The rest of the film will feel familiar to anyone that’s seen a superhero origin story. Audiences will be flooded 90-minutes of superhero shenanigans that include a slight love story, family centered comedy and Jaime learning the importance and responsibly that comes with being s superhero. It goes through the origin story list and checks every box.

Blue Beetle isn’t breaking the mold of superhero movies. It’s exactly what audiences will expect. It delivers a family friendly story that touches on bigger issues but doesn’t explore them any further. Xolo Mariduena is charming and delightful as Jaime. Mariduena has a chance to be really good if he’s given time to grow into the character. If James Gunn is looking for new faces for his DC Cinematic Universe, Mariduena showed real potential.

The highlight of the film is the humor. There are a lot of comedic moments between characters, but nothing is funnier than George Lopez as Uncle Rudy. Lopez is a hilarious conspiracy theorist that steals every scene he’s in with hilarious one-liners and facial expressions.

The fight scenes and action sequences are ok but nothing memorable happens. Sadly, most of the good scenes are spoiled in the trailer. Maybe they’re saving some of the good Blue Beetle fights for later. The weakest part of the film is the script. It’s not bad…it feels like a script from the early 2000’s.

Blue Beetle feels like more of the same. There’s only so much outside of the box storytelling you can do in an origin story introducing a new character. Within that box, Blue Beetle manages to be very entertaining and a fun film for the whole family. The story is a good foundational piece for what Gunn and the good people at DC are working on. There’s enough good in this film to keep audiences interested in what they cook up next.

Grade: B-