By George & Josh Bate
The following is a NON-SPOILER REVIEW of all eight episodes of Spider-Noir
It’s quite a feat to be a standout element in the universally loved and Academy Award winning Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, but Spider-Noir was exactly that. Amidst a myriad of multiversal variants of everyone’s favorite web-slinger, a Spider-Man from a monochromatic universe set in the 1930s charmed and intrigued audiences with his incredible costume and Nicolas Cage’s James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart-inspired vocal performance. After not reprising his role in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Nicolas Cage swings from animation into live-action in Spider-Noir, a brilliant new Prime Video series that brings conventions of the superhero genre into a stylish, noir-soaked mystery uncannily reminiscent, in every regard, to classic noir crime films like The Big Sleep and Laura.
From executive producers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, Spider-Noir follows Ben Reilly (Nicolas Cage), a grizzled private detective who stepped away from his role as the vigilante known as The Spider following a personal tragedy. After being hired to track down an arsonist and take pictures of a femme fatale nightclub singer named Cat Hardy (Li Jun Li), Reilly unexpectedly finds himself in the middle of a much bigger mystery, involving the vicious crime boss Silvermane (Brendan Gleeson), mobster Flint Marko (Jack Huston) and former soldier Lonnie Lincoln (Abraham Popoola).
Spider-Noir overwhelmingly lives up to the ‘noir’ in its title. The series developed by Oren Uziel painstakingly pays homage to and operates as film noir. Roger Ebert famously published a ten-point “Guide to Film Noir” and Spider-Noir checks off every criteria. Narratively, the show features the archetypal private investigator protagonist and femme fatale, both of whom are caught up in a winding mystery involving gangsters, police, and corruption. Visually, low-key lighting and unbalanced compositions are accompanied by shadows and darkness. Accompanied by a blend of orchestral music and saxophone, characters trade rapid-fire banter, biting metaphors, and sarcastic one-liners. And, of course, everyone is smoking – all the time.
The series’ commitment to adhering to the rules and embracing every element of film noir represents Spider-Noir’s greatest strength. Those who have not seen movies like Double Indemnity or Touch of Evil will be treated to an entirely novel flavor of storytelling, one that thrives on atmosphere, intrigue, and darkness. But those who are familiar with film noir will appreciate all manner of nods, parallels, and references to classics of the genre.
Making an already atmospheric series even more delectable is the presence and prominence of Nicolas Cage. Seeing the one-and-only Nic Cage play a Spider-Man in live-action is one thing to admire, but seeing him chew up the scenery with the terse, hardboiled patter and wit of a private eye in a film noir elevates Spider-Noir to incredible heights. Cage is clearly in his element and having so much fun as Ben Reilly, and goes all-in on evoking his inner Humphrey Bogart and James Gagney. There are few actors as mesmerizing as Cage, few actors who draw your attention and keep your eyes glued to the screen (even if the film or series around it is far from great). Cage demonstrates his undeniably alluring quality again here, delivering a performance that alone makes the series worth watching and creating a character the audience easily gets behind and has a laugh with.
The noir-drenched atmosphere and strength of Nicolas Cage’s performance carry much of Spider-Noir and, mostly, make up for a lackluster story. The initial episodes begin with all the intrigue one would expect from a noir story and fascinate as we follow Cage’s Ben Reilly slowly puts the pieces together of a mystery that involves the disappearance of a mobster and the attempted assassination of the big gangster in town. The mystery doesn’t quite grab one’s interest with an iron fist, nor does it pose questions we’re desperate to have answers for, but a solid setup allows for the series to proceed through the engaging, albeit familiar, beats of a detective story.
Disappointingly, the intrigue of the narrative peaks around episode 4, after which the series slowly loses its way. By the time the fifth episode arrives, much of the questions posed in the first half have already been answered, in turn leaving the audience little to ponder over or be surprised by. The direction the story heads in trades the suspense and intrigue of a film noir for a routine and fairly low stakes superhero movie/show story, one that is far too easy to forecast.
To make matters worse, Spider-Noir introduces a key element to its titular character in the second half of the series, which was previously not even remotely hinted at. The purpose of the introduction of this element is clear, as it provides Cage’s Ben Reilly with a primary motivation for the final four episodes, but the manner in which it is jarringly woven into the story raises questions as to why it wasn’t depicted or even suggested earlier on.
The newfound angle to Ben Reilly’s character in the series’ second half also comes with a fun yet incongruous shift in Cage’s performance. After four episodes of playing the part of a noir private dick without much eccentricity or outlandishness, Cage intermittently encroaches on full Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans or Face/Off Nic Cage from the fifth episode onward. While these bursts of energy and strangeness certainly foster some good laughs, they seem to be shoehorned without much narrative explanation.
Although Cage takes center stage in the noir narrative, Ben Reilly is accompanied by a host of compelling side characters. Brendan Gleeson plays the Irish mob boss Silvermane with a superficial kindness that belies his menace and the danger he poses. Li Jun Li takes on the role of the femme fatale nightclub singer Cat Hardy with the allure of Rita Hayworth and Lauren Bacall. Lamorn Morris brings some heart to the story as Robbie Robertson, a hard-working freelance journalist who is probably the series’ most virtuous character.
But the standout supporting performance belongs to Karen Rodriguez, who plays Reilly’s secretary Janet. It takes a lot to go toe-to-toe with a screen presence like Cage, and yet Rodriguez accomplishes this feat without breaking a sweat. Especially in the early episodes, her character Janet playfully clashes with Ben Reilly in scenes that have you hanging on any word of dialogue. She’s somewhat similar to Effie from The Maltese Falcon, primarily by serving as a trusted confidant of the main private investigator who shares an enthralling rapport with her employer. A testament to the strength of Rodriguez’s performance and the rapport she shares with Cage, a case-of-the-week show following Reilly and Janet tackle a self-contained mystery would quickly become a must-watch for us.
Lastly, Spider-Noir is premiering both in “Authentic Black & White” and “True-Hue Full Color.” Having had the opportunity to watch the series in both formats, our preference is for the black and white aesthetic. While the color version features high saturation that mirrors classic Technicolor, it makes the show appear a tad cheap and even fake at times. Conversely, the black and white version solidifies the series as a piece of true film noir and helps mask some of the aesthetic rougher edges.
VERDICT: 7/10
Spider-Noir overwhelmingly lives up to the ‘noir’ in its title by unreservedly embracing every convention of film noir. Evoking films like The Big Sleep and Laura, the new Prime Video series is beautifully shrouded in shadows, features the archetypal private investigator protagonist and femme fatale, has low-key lighting and unbalanced compositions, and all kinds of rapid-fire banter, biting metaphors, and sarcastic one-liners. Making an already atmospheric series even more delectable is the presence and prominence of Nicolas Cage, who chews up the scenery with the terse, hardboiled patter and wit of a private eye. Cage is clearly in his element and having so much fun as Ben Reilly, and goes all-in on evoking his inner Humphrey Bogart and James Cagney with a performance that encroaches on Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans heights of craziness in the last few episodes. It’s a tall order to go toe-to-toe with a screen presence like Cage, and yet Karen Rodriguez accomplishes this feat without breaking a sweat as Janet, Ben Reilly’s secretary and a standout supporting player in the series.
Disappointingly, the noir-drenched atmosphere and strengths of Cage and Rodriguez’s performance carry much of Spider-Noir amidst a rather lackluster story. Much of the intrigue one would expect from a film noir dissipates after the fourth episode and in its place comes a routine superhero plot and unexplained personality changes for Reilly.
Best experienced in “Authentic Black and White,” rather than “True-Hue Full Color,” Spider-Noir triumphs at the intersection of film noir and superhero movie, with its painstaking efforts to recreate the feel and look of the former being particularly applause-worthy. Not so much is a story that fails to match the brilliance of its leading man nor noir-drenched atmosphere. Nonetheless, Spider-Noir is a series worthy of swinging toward.