August 24, 2023 – This superhero origin/adventure tale packs equal amounts of action, social commentary, family drama and Hispanic pride. All it lacked is a rocket-powered low rider attack vehicle. A substantial portion of the dialog is in Spanish, with English subtitles provided.

Jaime Reyes' (played by Xolo Maridueña of the “Cobra Kai” TV series) college graduation party is spoiled by the news that his parents' home is in foreclosure, and the whole neighborhood is under threat by wealthy elites who want to take it over, making it into an upscale development for the rich.

Jaime and his sister, Milagro (Belissa Escobedo of “Hocus Pocus 2”) work as housekeepers for wealthy industrialist Victoria Kord (Susan Sarandon of “Tammy”) who is having serious arguments over Kord Industries policies with her niece, Jenny (played by Bruna Marquezine). Jaime steps into the dispute when it gets physical and gets himself and his sister fired by Victoria, but Jenny indicates she might be able to get him a job the next day.

Through a series of highly improbable events, Jenny steals an alien device called a scarab from Kord Industries the next day and gives it to Jaime for safekeeping. The device attacks Jaime, bonding to his body, its sentient brain (named Khaji-Da) infiltrating Jaime's nervous system, connecting directly to his brain.

The scarab (a variety of beetle) gives Jaime Iron Man-type superpowers, a variety of built-in weapons, great strength, the ability to fly, and armor against bullets. Kord Industries, under Victoria's leadership, wants to develop the scarab technology into a series of military weapons. Victoria's bodyguard, Ignacio Carapax (Raoul Max Trujillo of “Cold Pursuit”) is equipped with scarab-like technology developed by Kord Industries. Carapax himself serves as a testing ground for Kord weapons tech, which appears to be both powerful and painful to use.

Kord Industries needs the information locked inside Jaime to replicate the power of the scarab in order to make whole armies of Blue Beetles. Kord comes after Jaime, and his whole family, including his father, Alberto (Damián Alcázar of “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian”) his mother, Rocio (Elpidia Carrillo of “A Day Without a Mexican”) his grandmother, Nana (Adriana Barraza of “Rambo: Last Blood”) his sister and his tech savvy uncle Rudy Reyes (George Lopez of the “George Lopez” and “Lopez vs Lopez” TV series).

It all comes down to a battle between the might of Kord Industries and the Reyes clan, which includes a former Mexican revolutionary. Those who are familiar with the movies in the Fast and Furious franchise will recognize this “family versus evil” theme. The two sides in this war are not entirely black and white, however, and the resolution of the battle is not entirely straightforward. The melding of the two minds, that of Jaime and Khaji-Da, is not so simple, either.

The conclusion of this movie is satisfying, even though it is improbable. The ending is designed to accommodate a sequel, which is likely, given the success of this movie. This movie rates a B.

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