Two weeks ago I went with a friend to the Pathé at Amsterdam Arena and watched Blue Beetle. And I was amazed. I think this is one of the best comic book movies to come out in a very long time.

I can give you a whole synopsis which I won’t do because everyone does that. But what I will do is give you some thoughts on comic book movies in general and what they can learn from Blue Beetle.

Story matters

A lot of internet chatter is that comic book movies are in trouble because they aren’t getting butts in the seats like they used to. That there is super-hero movie fatigue. This is probably true because what you are seeing out there are a lot of the same special effects and plot moving devices that serve specific moments and not the story in general. You aren’t taken on a journey but rather you are hitting one set piece after the other. And when you do this a certain amount of times, audiences will know what to expect and they will shut off.

Blue Beetle is all about family. It uses this core concept and puts you in the seat with them as you move through the story. This produces stakes, and you actually care about what happens to the character. I haven’t yelled, clapped, and then shrieked in horror like I did during Blue Beetle in a very long time.

Figure out how to fix movies in general

I think a lot of movie fatigue has to do with the fact that the general audience has changed. The general audience has now moved onto streaming and digesting long form content in 10-15 30+ minute episodes per season. This means that an audience expects a lot from a movie and wants that same satisfaction that they receive from being with a set of characters through a whole seasonal arc. I think this is a general threat to movies in general but it really makes the concept of having strong character and story arcs that much more important.

And guess what? Blue Beetle manages this perfectly. Every character has a story arc and is done in a way that is satisfying and you don’t feel cheated. Because everything that happens in Blue Beetle serves the story and not a moment or a set piece. Moments come naturally because they have to.

Always make sure your soundtrack is awesome

One of my main complaints with Marvel movies is that, in most cases, the soundtrack is very generic and not very memorable. The obvious exception is The Avengers, but it’s from Alan Silvestri so that shouldn’t be surprising.

DC was also moving into this realm. Both soundtracks of Shazam were quite generic and I thought the Flash missed some key moments.

But one of the best things about Blue Beetle is its soundtrack because it’s frickin’ awesome. Bobby Krlic does the score and he puts you on an emotional roller coaster ride that always rocks your inner 80’s child. He doesn’t rely too much on nostalgia but you always know when our buddy Jaime Reyes is about to kick some butt. If we want our comic book movies to succeed, don’t make the soundtrack an after thought, put it front and center. If John Williams created the modern super-hero soundtrack then there’s still a reason I’m still talking about John Williams.

Audiences want to invest in something that is worth investing

Blue Beetle is in a weird place because it’s at the end of one cinematic universe and it is or isn’t starting the second. James Gunn jumped the gun (boom!) and pretty much said the current DCEU (or whatever it’s called) is ending and he’s launching the new one with Superman Legacy. The problem was that Warner Bros had about three movies ready to go after that announcement, and so far two of those underperformed at the box office. This is the equivalent of releasing the first season on your favorite streaming service and following it up directly with an announcement that the series will be cancelled. Audiences aren’t going to invest their time in something that is already finished. Whether you agree with it or not, after seeing a movie you want the audience to want more, and that’s usually in the form of a sequel. If you take that off the table, they won’t see your movie or TV show until they see it pop up on whatever thing is on the TV and if they have a couple of hours to kill.

It is a pity that Blue Beetle won’t make as much money as it deserves. It is probably one of best entries in the DC Film Universe since Zak Snyder’s Man of Steel and is easily in the top 5 since then. I do hope it has some legs and will continue to make money but in any case I can’t wait for the 4k so I can go on that incredible journey with the Reyes’ family again.