Franz Kafka never realized how close he came to kickstarting a superhero franchise.
Ever since Gregor Samsa awoke in his bed to find himself transformed into a monstrous dung beetle in we91裸聊视频檝e had spider-men, wasps, ant-men, crime-fighting ticks and mighty mantises 91裸聊视频� such a super swarm of insectoids that you might be tempted to reach for a fly swatter.
We91裸聊视频檙e now back to the beetle with the new DC Comics film which opens in theaters Thursday. But what distinguishes 91裸聊视频淏lue Beetle91裸聊视频� isn91裸聊视频檛 its place in the bug brigade but the person doing the metamorphosizing.
Jaime Reyes (Xolo Maridue帽a) is the first Latino superhero in a leading role in a DC film. It91裸聊视频檚 not just token casting, either. 91裸聊视频淏lue Beetle,91裸聊视频� directed by 脕ngel Manuel Soto and written by Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer, is firmly rooted in the experience of the Reyes clan, a close-knit Mexican-American family scraping by in the shadow of the gleaming Miami-like fictional metropolis of Palmera City.
Jaime is their first college graduate 91裸聊视频� 91裸聊视频淎nd last!91裸聊视频� cheerfully chimes his sister, Milagro (the very funny, scene-stealing Belissa Escobedo). The parents, Alberto (Dami谩n Alc谩zar) and Rocio (Elpidia Carrillo) are broke and on the cusp of losing their home to the encroaching, all-powerful Kord Industries. Also living with them are Jaime91裸聊视频檚 grandmother (Adriana Barraza) and his truck-driving uncle (George Lopez, having a ball).
91裸聊视频淲e used to have the other side of the tracks,91裸聊视频� says Milagro. 91裸聊视频淣ow they want that, too.91裸聊视频�
Despite big post-college ambitions, Jaime is stuck cleaning hotel rooms with his sister. Given what his family has sacrificed for him, he91裸聊视频檚 saddled with guilt. So after a chance encounter with Jenny Kord (the Brazilian actress Bruna Marquezine), niece of the company91裸聊视频檚 imperial chief executive Victoria (Susan Sarandon), Jaime jumps at the chance of a job opportunity.
He happens to turn up at Kord headquarters just as Jenny is fleeing with Victoria91裸聊视频檚 prized discovery: a blue metallic scarab from outer space called the Khaji da that she91裸聊视频檚 using to create an privatized robotic army. It91裸聊视频檚 admittedly quite a jump from the real estate business, but, well, interest rates are sky high.
Before you know it, Jaime, tasked with hiding the beetle by Jenny, is looking down at the thing when it sinks itself onto his face and quickly seeps into his body. Gregor91裸聊视频檚 initial response to changing into a beetle was simply to turn over (91裸聊视频淗ow about if I sleep a little bit longer and forget all this nonsense91裸聊视频�), but Jaime is afforded no such chance. He91裸聊视频檚 immediately rocketed through the roof and into space.
In the broadly sketched but spirited 91裸聊视频淏lue Beetle,91裸聊视频� much of what follows is as you91裸聊视频檇 expect. There91裸聊视频檚 getting used to the new outfit (and the sentient being that communicates Venom-style within Jaime). A recent past to uncover. The inevitable climactic battle between two hunks of CGI.
But 91裸聊视频淏lue Beetle,91裸聊视频� the final entry in distinguishes itself in other ways. Jaime91裸聊视频檚 family is continually along for the ride, making up his supporting cast when the big fight comes. (The grandmother91裸聊视频檚 younger days as a revolutionary emerge, comically.) Superheroes are ultimately empowerment fantasies, though they91裸聊视频檝e often got away from that. 91裸聊视频淏lue Beetle91裸聊视频� manages to come closer than most in evoking the thrill of the powerless suddenly handed cosmic strength.
Soto plays it fast and loose, mixing in a little lewdness (91裸聊视频淎ctivate bug fart91裸聊视频� is a new addition to the often solemn DC universe) and shades of neon blue and purple along the way. 91裸聊视频淏lue Beetle91裸聊视频� doesn91裸聊视频檛 have much originality going for itself and Maridue帽a doesn91裸聊视频檛 make a significant impression. But the film crucially gets that superhero movies don91裸聊视频檛 need to be self-serious to make a serious point.
91裸聊视频淏lue Beetle,91裸聊视频� light, lively and sincere, is a tribute to the tenacity and indomitability of Mexican-American families that have clawed their way into an often inhospitable society. Family members, usually plot points of some animating trauma in superhero movies, are here a central part of the action. (Lopez gets countless cracks in, and most of them land.)
It91裸聊视频檚 a time of self-inquiry for the superhero movie after hints of a new downward trend (despite some notable exceptions like the blistering with its ). 91裸聊视频淏lue Beetle,91裸聊视频� which had at one point been destined to go straight to streaming, falls in the middle of this new uncertain terrain. After a string of disappointments, future DC installments will take the comic book franchise in new directions. So it remains to be seen if 91裸聊视频淏lue Beetle91裸聊视频� can be much more than a bug in the system amid larger industry shifts.
But I91裸聊视频檇 wager there will be plenty of moviegoers 91裸聊视频� especially young Hispanic ones not accustomed to seeing reflections of themselves in Hollywood comic book spectacles 91裸聊视频� who91裸聊视频檒l grin all the way through the breezy 91裸聊视频淏lue Beetle.91裸聊视频� If even a low-stakes, fairly derivative superhero movie like this can charm thanks to its warm Hispanic perspective and winning supporting cast, there91裸聊视频檚 plenty of hope yet for the genre 91裸聊视频� bugs and all.
91裸聊视频淏lue Beetle,91裸聊视频� a Warner Bros. release is rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association for sequences of action and violence, language, and some suggestive references. Running time: 127 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four.
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