The most interesting Spider-Man tale of the year is finally hitting screens, and no, we're not talking about Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Amazon MGM's Spider-Verse spinoff Spider-Noir is finally here, and though Peter Parker's newest upcoming film is sure to be a blast, fans are guaranteed to be surprised by this unexpected, genre-shifting Nicolas Cage outing. It's excellent.
Ben Reilly first emerged as Peter Parker's comic clone in The Amazing Spider-Man # 149 (Oct. 1975), and originally bore no real connection to Marvel's independently conceived Marvel Noir universe of Earth-90214. Marvel Noir began in 2009, setting alternate versions of fan-favorite characters in a hardboiled crime noir world (often around the Great Depression). Spider-Man Noir (an alter-ego of Peter Parker, here) made his way into his own series and various media, culminating in a memorable appearance in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
Voiced by Nicolas Cage, this iteration featured Ben Reilly as a Nazi-punching, black-and-white iteration with a James Cagney-esque accent. Cage as Spider-Noir was a riot, one of the biggest highlights in a film full of fantastic elements.
In the live-action spin-off Spider-Noir, Reilly's arachnid alter ego is "The Spider," a moniker is shared with the 1930s pulp hero that inspired Stan Lee's creation of the Spider-Man character.
Spider-Noir is a blast and a half and full of surprises. It's simultaneously a fun noir homage and a throwback superhero origin story with campy undertones. The setting is engaging, the cast all excel in their roles, and the fact that the tale is always evolving keeps it from getting old. Cage makes for a great, grizzled Ben Reilly, and he's undoubtedly having fun here. It can't be missed.
Nicolas Cage Is A Stellar Super-Gumshoe
In the series, Reilly is a private investigator who has long since retired from his secret vigilante life as "The Spider," New York City's only superhero. A case comes his way that forces Reilly into the sphere of mob boss Silvermane (Brendan Gleeson) alongside a host of individuals with mysteriously emergent superpowers.
In Reilly's corner are secretary and fellow investigator Janet (Karen Rodriguez), freelance journalist Robbie Robertson (Lamorne Morris), and the dangerous femme fatale Cat Hardy (Li Jun Li).
Cage was memorable as the animated interpretation of the character in his Spider-Verse introduction, and he's even better here. Reilly is a classic, Bogart-esque investigator, and Cage excels at balancing that hardboiled vibe against the various voices and caricatures Reilly adopts in the course of asking questions.
He's an inspired cast for the role, and it's a lot of fun hearing that sort of voice come out of a web-slinging spider. His ability for shamanic, comedic physicality is also taken advantage of well, as in the series of stretches he takes on at home after a long day of superheroics.
Gleeson is great as the charming but extremely dangerous mob boss thrown into a growing world of desperate super-powered mutates. He's increasingly operating in an out-of-control criminal environment, and ups his brutality to keep pace, yet he remains likable.
Li Jun Li is an exceptional femme fatale, smooth-talking and empathetic, but who will do anything to achieve her goals.
Lamorne Morris makes for a fun, smooth-talking reporter, using his charm to get at the story and adding to the series' comedic undertones. It's a set of characters that fall well into noir archetypes, but which are often pivoted into new directions.
Spider-Noir is a Wildly Unexpected Comic Book Property
While the cast of the series is great, the action is well-executed, and it's well-made as a whole, the best part of Spider-Noir is the script. The series allows its myriad super-powered characters to have evolving characterization, and it treats them with empathy. Unlike a number of their counterparts in Spider-Man's rogues gallery, these figures aren't bad or sociopathic.
They're desperate. It's an era of hard times, and they've fallen on them. It gives the series a dynamic quality and makes every character far more interesting than they could be.
Additionally, it's a clever reconstruction of traditional noir elements. Of particular note is the fact that you can watch the series either in color or in black-and-white, and they each have their charms. The color is beautiful; it's a well-shot series that takes advantage of these odd, powered characters, and often captures a comic book-esque look. It looks great in black-and-white, with gorgeous contrast, though the image is a little cleaner than it could be... some film grain would be all it needs.
There's a little repetition or narrative sluggishness that slows the story down on occasion, and it takes a while to really get going in parts of the first half. There are a lot of moving parts, and sometimes one or another isn't as well utilized as one might like. That said, it's such a campy yarn with great worldbuilding that it pulls together, making for an ultimately good tale.
Spider-Noir is one of the most surprising modern superhero tales since perhaps Wandavision upended conventions and played with expectations. It boasts such a unique feel compared to the mainstream superhero tales we've gotten, with novel interpretations of characters.
Cage gives a fully committed performance, even down to wild physical comedy and comical accent work. In an era in need of fresh experimentation with its superhero tales, it's blissfully surprising even down to the creation of two modes to watch it.
Final Rating: 7/10
Spider-Noir will premiere first on MGM+'s linear channel on May 25, followed by a global release on Amazon Prime Video on May 27.
