Ben Reilly/Spiderman (Nicolas Cage) in ‘Spider-Noir’. Photo: Aaron Epstein/Prime. © Amazon Content Services LLC.
The new live-action series ‘Spider-Noir’, which is set in an alternate universe within Sony’s Spider-Man Universe and was created by Oren Uziel (‘Mortal Kombat’)., will premiere all eight episodes on MGM+ in the United States on May 25th before releasing globally on Prime Video May 27th.
“With no power comes no responsibility.”
The new series stars Oscar winner Nicolas Cage (‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’) as Ben Reilly / The Spider, Lamorne Morris (‘Saturday Night’) as Robbie Robertson, Li Jun Li (‘Sinners’) as Cat Hardy, Karen Rodriguez (‘Shining Girls’) as Janet, Jack Huston (‘American Hustle’) as Flint Marko / Sandman, Abraham Popoola (‘Morbius’) as Lonnie Lincoln / Tombstone, and Brendan Gleeson (‘The Banshees of Inisherin’) as Silvermane.
Related Article: Nicolas Cage Talks Director Lorcan Finnegan’s Thriller ‘The Surfer’
Initial Thoughts
Ben Reilly/Spiderman (Nicolas Cage) in ‘Spider-Noir’. Photo: Aaron Epstein/Prime. © Amazon Content Services LLC.
Loosely based on the character Nicolas Cage voiced in ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’, as well as characters from Marvel Comics, ‘Spider-Noir’ is a fresh and entertaining adaption of the Spider-Man mythology. Drawing inspiration from noir genre films like ‘Chinatown’, ‘The Maltese Falcon’ and ‘The Big Sleep’, Nicolas Cage is perfectly cast as 1930s detective Ben Reilly, who is at odds with his goofy superhero persona of the Spider.
In addition to Reilly, the series reintroduces new versions of classic Spider-Man characters such as Robbie Robertson, Sandman, and Tombstone, and features an excellent supporting cast that includes Li June Li, Jack Huston, and Brendan Gleeson. The series also offers each episode in either “True-Hue Full Color” or “Authentic Black and White”, and I found that the latter worked best with the noir style.
Story and Direction
(L to R) Executive Producer Harry Bradbeer and Nicolas Cage (Ben Reilly/Spiderman) in ‘Spider-Noir’. Photo: Aaron Epstein/Prime. © Amazon Content Services LLC.
Taking place in another corner of Sony’s Spider-Man Universe, ‘Spider-Noir’ tells the story of Ben Reilly (Nicolas Cage), a 1930’s New York City detective, who is also the mysterious superhero known as The Spider. After an unforeseen tragedy shakes him to his core, Reilly retires his alter-ego and tries to drink his troubles away.
One day Reilly is approached by Cat Hardy (Li June Li), a beautiful nightclub singer who hires him to investigate her boyfriend Flint Marko (Jack Huston), who can turn his skin to sand but is being killed by his own powers. He works for crime boss Silvermane (Brenden Gleeson), who has his own history with Reilly.
Brendan Gleeson in ‘Spider-Noir’. Photo: Courtesy of Prime. © Amazon Content Services LLC.
Supported by his assistant Janet (Karen Rodriguez) and his friend, reporter Robbie Robertson (Lamorne Morris), Reilly is encouraged to wear the mask once again and help Cat to stop Silvermane before he can use Flint and his other superpowered henchmen to takeover the city. At the same, Reilly must face his own demons and discover the true origins of his powers, while navigating his personal feelings for Cat.
With countless big screen, television, animation, and video game appearances, it’s hard to imagine how you can reintroduce the character of Spider-Man in a new and interesting way, but ‘Spider-Noir’ succeeds by creating something that is both entertaining and fresh.
(L to R) Jack Huston and Andrew Lewis Caldwell in ‘Spider-Noir’. Photo: Courtesy of Prime. © Amazon Content Services LLC.
While based on Marvel characters that the audience will be familiar with, the series presents all these characters in new and exciting ways, always staying true to the source material, but having the freedom to use them in whatever way serves the story best.
Series creator Oren Uziel has crafted a unique story that mixes the genre well with the Spider-Man mythos and captures the mood and tone of 1930’s noir films. As far as period pieces go, the series nails the look of the time from the classic cars to the elegant wardrobe, and the dialogue’s snappy rhythm adds to the tone of the series.
As happens with many streaming series, at eight episodes long, there probably is one or two episodes of pure filler that don’t really move the story along, but the characters and world are so interesting that you can forgive that. Otherwise, the scripts are excellent, and the story works from beginning to end.
Cast and Performances
Ben Reilly/Spiderman (Nicolas Cage) in ‘Spider-Noir’. Photo: Aaron Epstein/Prime. © Amazon Content Services LLC.
You can’t talk about the performances in ‘Spider-Noir’ without talking about Oscar winner Nicolas Cage, who seems born to play this role. Cage’s signature whacky style of acting blends perfectly with the character of Ben Reilly, who has a love/hate relationship with his alter ego.
It’s important to note that this is a different version of the character than the one he voiced in ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’, and Cage does a great job of noting that difference while still investing audiences in this version of the character. It’s also just great seeing Cage play a 1930’s detective, as the actor has always had a timeless throwback quality and feels right at home in this genre.
Cat Hardy (Li Jun Li) in ‘Spider-Noir’. Photo: Aaron Epstein/Prime. © Amazon Content Services LLC.
Li June Li lights up the screen as Cat Hardy, and excellently plays the classic femme fatale role. ‘Spider-Noir’ marks the second live-action appearance of Marvel’s Black Cat character, after Felicity Jones brief role in ‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2’, but here the ‘Sinners’ actress is given the time to make the character her own and has great onscreen chemistry with Cage.
Jack Huston is also given a chance to reimagine a classic Marvel character with his version of Flint Marko /Sandman. In this version, Marko is a mob boss enforcer with a heart of gold who sees his powers as a curse and just wants to be with his love Cat. This sympathizes the character for the audience in a way that we haven’t seen before in live action. It also helps that Huston looks like he is from the era with his mustache and slicked backed hair.
Jack Huston (Flint Marco/Sandman) in ‘Spider-Noir’. Photo: Aaron Epstein/Prime. © Amazon Content Services LLC.
Lamorne Morris and Karen Rodriguez play their supporting roles well, especially Rodriguez who plays Reilly’s assistant with just the right amount of spunk. Finally, Brendan Gleeson plays Silvermane, the ultimate antagonist of the story, and while the character is nothing like his comic book counterpart, Gleeson is still very intimidating in the role playing the character like a classic noir crime boss and he has some great scenes opposite both Li June Li and Nicolas Cage.
Color vs. Black and White
(L to R) Janet Ross (Karen Rodriguez) and Ben Reilly/Spiderman (Nicolas Cage) in ‘Spider-Noir’. Photo: Aaron Epstein/Prime. © Amazon Content Services LLC.
One of the cool things that the series is doing is offering two different ways to watch each episode, “True-Hue Full Color” or “Authentic Black and White”. As a little experiment, I alternated versions as I watched the series, beginning with color for episode 1 and then watching episode 2 in Black and White.
What I found was that by episode 5, I just wanted to watch every episode in Black and White, as it lends to the tone and style of the series better than color does. You may find that you like the color episodes better, but I recommend that you try it both ways and discover which version works best for you.
Final Thoughts
Ben Reilly/Spiderman (Nicolas Cage) in ‘Spider-Noir’. Photo: Aaron Epstein/Prime. © Amazon Content Services LLC.
In the end, ‘Spider-Noir’ does something I didn’t think was possible, it explores the Spider-Man mythology in a new and fresh way. The film noir style of the show is not just a gimmick, it is a fully formed world presented with characters that live and breathe on screen.
Nicolas Cage gives one of his best late career performances (in a career full of impressive performances), and truly makes his character unique and standout among the other live-action Spider-Man movies and TV shows we’ve seen in the past.
‘Spider-Noir’ receives a score of 90 out of 100.
‘Spider-Noir’ premieres on Prime Video May 27th.
What is the plot of ‘Spider-Noir’?
Ben Reilly (Nicholas Cage), an aging, down on his luck private investigator, grapples with his past life as the only superhero in 1930s New York City, the Spider. When an exceptional case comes his way, Reilly must become the Spider once more.
Who is in the cast of ‘Spider-Noir’?
- Nicolas Cage as Ben Reilly / The Spider
- Lamorne Morris as Robbie Robertson
- Li Jun Li as Cat Hardy
- Jack Huston as Flint Marko / Sandman
- Brendan Gleeson as Silvermane
- Karen Rodriguez as Janet
- Abraham Popoola as Lonnie Lincoln / Tombstone
- Lukas Haas as a subordinate of Silvermane
‘Spider-Noir’ premieres on Prime Video May 27th.