Blue Beetle Officially Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes

08/17/2023 11:36 am EDT

Blue Beetle's Rotten Tomatoes score is certified fresh on the review aggregator. This morning, the DC movie sits at 82% on the Tomatometer. Blue Beetle has had a wild couple of days as fans and critics have caught screenings of the film. Xolo Maridueña got a lot of praise from social media as he debuts in the DC Universe. Angel Manuel Soto has also drawn a lot of kudos for his approach to Blue Beetle. The story never strayed away from Jaime Reyes and his family. Add all of that to the fact that this is a massive moment for Latino movie-goers and the performance of this movie will be something to watch over the weekend.

On Rotten Tomatoes, Blue Beetle is the highest-rated DC movie since 2021. That would be back when The Suicide Squad released. Of course, that movie's performance was affected by the pandemic. It will be interesting to see if Barbie and Oppenheimer's whirlwind month at the box office actually rubs off on any other projects this year. (Maybe so? Who really knows at this point!) For now, DC and James Gunn can rest assured that they've produced a movie that people seem to like. That should be enough, along with a fun debut for a young hero, to kick-start whatever the new head of the studio has planned.

Blue Beetle's Biggest Secret Weapon: Family

Representation was in everyone's minds working on Blue Beetle. Xolo Maridueña, as the star of this movie, had the idea of a hero that young kids could look up to in his head while filming. The actor spoke to Entertainment Weekly about Blue Beetle before the strike. During their conversation, it became clear that Maridueña absolutely feels a closeness to Jaime Reyes.

"I think what surprised me the most was reading the script before filming the movie." Maridueña explained. "This is a Latino character, and I was curious how far we were going to lean into it, what elements we were going to show. How were we going to deliver on that big ask? Honestly, I was just jaw-droppingly blown away." 

"It was a cathartic experience reading the script because I had the realization that my whole upbringing... I mean, every family dinner that was placed on the table, I wasn't calling it Mexican food, right? I was just calling it dinner. I was just calling it food. And I had that same homey feeling [while reading the script]," he added. "The family felt natural, even though it wasn't my own family. I could understand every one of the characters and feel that familial love. I was really surprised at how well they were able to capture that. And then, bringing it onto the screen was 10 times better because you've got f---ing George Lopez and Adriana Barraza and Belissa Escobedo, so it was just the most fun filming. I want to do 12 more years of Blue Beetle."

Blue Beetle Comics Are Free To Read Ahead of the Movie

As James Gunn works to establish some more headwinds with comic book movie-goers who don't visit comics shops, he's helped make some of the Blue Beetle comics available for free. Angel Manuel Soto actually draws from the 2006 run of Blue Beetle a lot. Keith Griffin and Cully Hamner had their fingerprints all over the version of this character after Infinite Crisis. Soto spoke to ComicBook.com about how he managed to nod toward the comics and beyond.

"The New 52 was a big inspiration, as far as the suit goes and other aspects of the story, but we took a lot from bits and pieces," Soto told ComicBook during a trailer reveal event earlier this year. "There's a lot of great stuff in all the different runs, and we were like, 'Man, how do you choose one?' We were like, 'Do we have to choose one? No, let's do whatever the f-ck we want with it.' Just have fun and create something awesome, create something really interesting that takes the greatest hits — even from the Injustice 2 game. We really deep dive on it because it's f-cking dope."

What Happens in Blue Beetle?

From Warner Bros. Pictures comes Blue Beetle, which arrives in theaters on August 18th, marking the DC superhero's first time on the big screen. The film, directed by Angel Manuel Soto , stars Xolo Maridueña in the title role as well as his alter ego, Jaime Reyes. Recent college grad Jaime Reyes 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 in the world, 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 armor capable of extraordinary and unpredictable powers, forever changing his destiny as he becomes the Super Hero BLUE BEETLE.

Starring alongside Maridueña are Adriana Barraza, Damían Alcázar, Elpidia Carrillo, Bruna Marquezine , Raoul Max Trujillo , with Oscar winner Susan Sarandon , and George Lopez (the "Rio and "Smurf" franchises). The film also stars Belissa Escobedo and Harvey Guillén. Soto directs from a screenplay by Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer, based on characters from DC . John Rickard and Zev Foreman are producing, with Walter Hamada, Galen Vaisman and Garrett Grant serving as executive producers.

Are you surprised by this Rotten Tomatoes score? Let us know in the comments down below!

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