Why So Blu?

Blue Beetle (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)

We are marching toward a new beginning for the DC brand in film form. The penultimate entry came this past summer in the way of Blue Beetle. For having a low opening weekend, it hung on pretty good in the following week. On Halloween, you’ll be able to pick this one up for your home collection on 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray. Armed with a Dolby Atmos track, it also has a nice smattering of featurettes to round out the package. Warner Bros seem to be taking a page out of the Paramount book, as it has no standard Blu-ray with it. You can order yourself a copy by using the paid Amazon Associates link at the bottom of the page.

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Film

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.

Its important to note that Blue Beetle was intended as a “direct to Max” movie that Warner Bros later decided to toss for a run into theaters. A lot of stuff with the film will clear up and make sense when you know that. Ángel Manuel Soto’s film has a great strength in a certain half of this movie while the other kinda feels uneventful, but that’s probably because he was limited in terms of money and resources. Nonetheless, its a rather solid movie that people definitely should check out for some of the unique and refreshing flavors it does bring and excel at in the comic book superhero genre.

Let’s start off with what is excellent in the film – the protagonist characters. Jamie and his family are absolutely wonderful. With what could have been some iffy performance and types, turn out to be well rounded and endearing personalities. This movie is so enjoyable when it is just them at home (or whereever) and they are just bantering with one another. Everybody here has chemistry that is off the charts. George Lopez’s goofy uncle flirts with being a one not loudmouth and winds up incredibly endearing. As for star Xolo Maridueña, he’s very capable, charming and someone who we are fully on board with us discovering this technology and power through.

Where the film falters is in what is the draw of the film – the superhero stuff. There isn’t a lot here that feels any different from Iron Man or a (gasp) Green Lantern movie. And in terms of the action or spectacle sequences, there is nothing to write home about (I’m not including the vision with the father). Its all pretty uneventful in how its shot and cut. There are no powers or villainy that stands out. Though, I will say Susan Sarandon’s “just straight up evil” character in terms of script and performance is actually kind of nice. However, when you bring up that this was supposed to be essentially a TV movie, things start to make a little sense with this grievance.

Blue Beetle altogether is a nice little bit fun escape that you’ll likely enjoy and even be surprised by when watching, but likely not think much about long after. He’s a fun character that I do think earns a place in the DC lexicon here. Thoughts of mixing him with other characters does sound fun. Who knows what the future holds, but the character got a pretty decent live action movie, which is a pretty big step for a third(?) tier character.

Video

Disclaimer: Screen captures used in the review are from promotional images supplied by the studio, not the 4K UHD Blu-ray disc.

Encoding: HEVC / H.265

Resolution: 4K (2160p)

Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1

Layers: BD-100

Clarity/Detail: Blue Beetle arrives on 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray with a pretty colorful, vivid looking transfer. This is a very neon friendly film and this transfer has no trouble showcasing it. There are plenty of fine details to be found in this crisp image which also does no harm to the visual effects that seems to hold up quite well.

Depth:  Depth of field is pretty solid here with some decent pushback in the interiors. Scale is what it is, the film didn’t feel all too big in the theater and that’s what you get here. Movements are smooth and natural and none of the rapid action or camera movements cause any sort of blurring or jittering.

Black Levels: Blacks are deep and natural. Nighttime and dark, cavernous or industrial facility scenes look good with little details, patterns and textures showing through. No crushing witnessed.

Color Reproduction: Colors burst through on this one. Blues, purples, reds and more really radiate off the screen. The HDR hits well with the scenes contrasting against night and such as well as any magical beams and the like getting extra glow and pop.

Flesh Tones: Skin tones are natural and consistent from start to finish. Facial features and textures like scarring, stubble, wrinkles, freckles, sweat beads and more come through clear as day.

Noise/Artifacts: Clean

Audio

Audio Format(s): English Dolby Atmos, English 5.1 Dolby Digital, English Descriptive Audio, French 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital

Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish

Dynamics: Blue Beetle arrives with a pretty bumping and well balanced Atmos track. This is well layered and spacious, giving room to breathe while also showcasing an engaging environment be it indoors or outdoors. The depth here is quite good with little nicks and knacks going around to make it feel very lived in.

Height: Lots of fun to be had up top with characters flying across, debris falling, beams blasting overhead, machine noises and more.

Low Frequency Extension: The subwoofer hits with some good power in the action scenes with crashing, explosions, gunfire, beams firing and more. And the music also bumps very well with this track.

Surround Sound Presentation: The room is well rounded and quite fun. The rear and side channels build up a good ambiance and room noise while also multitasking to keep track of off screen activity and angle changes. Sound rolls around the room with good force and accuracy.

Dialogue Reproduction:  Vocals are crisp and clear.

Extras

Blue Beetle comes with a redeemable digital code.

Generations: Blue Beetle – 4-parts of featurettes that make up the history of Blue Beetle, origins as a film, casting, shooting and much more. Full of interviews and behind the scenes.

• Origins (HD, 7:28)
• Production Begins (HD, 16:12)
• In Full Flight (HD, 9:03)
• A Hero’s World (HD, 13:24)

Scarab Vision (HD, ) – This goes over what gives Blue Beetle its superpowers as well as how it is utilized in the film.

• Episode 1: Initiation (HD, 6:35)
• Episode 2: Mastery (HD, 6:50)

Nana Knows Best (HD, 4:21) – All about Grandma! This pretty much goes over the character and her portrayal in the film.

Summary

Blue Beetle is a rock solid super hero adventure that excels mostly when its not a super hero adventure. Warner Bros delivers it to 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray with top notch video and audio. Love is given to it in the bonus material with some good featurettes. Definitely a pick up to complete your DC collection or at a good sale price.

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