Series review: Spider-Noir

Nicolas Cage is no stranger to Marvel superheroes.

From Ghost Rider in the early 2000s, to voicing Spider-Man Noir in the universally beloved animated movie Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.

Cage plays Noir again in the live-action series Spider-Noir on Prime Video — and it’s worth the wait.   

Playing a different version of his Spider-Verse role in the character’s TV debut, we follow Cage’s Ben Reilly working as a private investigator in 1930s New York. Five years after a terrible loss, he retired from being a web-slinging crimefighter called The Spider.

When Reilly accepts a seemingly ordinary case, he thinks it’s easy money until supervillains and mobsters enter the picture. Now, he must wear his spider mask once again to protect his gloomy world. 

Upon first viewing, the series is superb from a visual and production standpoint alone. The shadowy textures settle you into every set and background of the city’s brooding landscape. From characters in sleek fedoras, suits, and coats to hazy jazz clubs filled with criminals and strangers, the show does a fantastic job capturing the culture of the 1930s.  

Cage gives Reilly his usual trademark of comedic weirdness and boisterous abandon mixed with the smarts and self-contained persona for his detective role. Watching his Spider-Man is enjoyable, as we see him play every angle to get information, money, or escape harm.  

The show uses closeups of Cage’s emotionally distant face during dialogue scenes to convey that Reilly’s private struggles with alcoholism and loneliness weigh heavily on his mind. He provides a mature take on Noir while still delivering childish humour for scenes that need it. 

Newcomer Li Jun Li stands out among the supporting cast with her incredible performance as jazz singer Cat Hardy. Her emotionally powerful vocals along with her complex portrayal of her double-faced character make Hardy vulnerable yet secretive, loving yet unpredictable. 

The action picks up when Reilly finally suits up to fight main villain Silvermane (Brendan Gleeson) and his supervillain mob. Whether it’s a chase or fistfight, it’s exciting to see Reilly use webs and quick thinking against Tommy guns and superpowers.

Spider-Noir also shows Cage’s physical limits due to age during fights, which adds more energy to these scenes.

One shortcoming in the show is that the supporting cast has weak on-screen chemistry with each other. There aren’t many relationships in the story that are memorable across the episodes. The only exception is Hardy’s tragic romance with mobster Flint Marko (Jack Huston). Their story arc as doomed lovers makes you root for them leading up to the finale. 

As for the script, I wish it focused on Reilly’s early days as a crimefighter, rather than setting the plot five years into his retirement. The terrifying cause of his spider powers would’ve been explored more to push the horror movie tone that the show touched on in a few episodes. 

Spider-Noir’s central theme is that much like Reilly’s world, our lives are full of dualities. Noir faces the dilemma of suiting up as The Spider or just living a normal life. The series tells us the direction we choose to take and what is ultimately left behind.

As a big fan of black-and-white detective movies and an even bigger fan of Spider-Man, Ben Reilly has become one of my favourite versions of the famous webslinger. I hope Spider-Noir continues and has a multi-season run.

Afterall, it’s Nicolas Cage as Spider-Man in a crime-noir world. What more could you ask for?

All eight episodes of Spider-Noir are available to stream on Amazon Prime Video in black and white and in full colour.