Spider-Noir -Review

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

NICOLAS Cage brings equal parts charisma and eccentricity to Amazon Prime’s stylish Spider-Noir series, a slick mix of 1940s noir thriller and superhero genres.

As a long-term comic book fan himself, Cage has long flirted with different screen versions of notable characters, to varying degrees of success.

His Ghost Rider movies were disastrous flops that flamed out in spite of his best efforts, while he famously auditioned (and almost became) Superman in Tim Burton’s unmade film, Superman Lives (a What If?… for the ages).

But he shone as Big Daddy, a non-superhero pretending to be a Batman-style superhero, in the ultra violent and subversive Kick-Ass (a role that played to his strengths), while also standing out as Spider-Noir/Peter Parker in 2018’s Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse, for writing and producing duo Phil Lord and Christopher Miller.

It’s Lord and Miller who produce this series and their eye for style and ear for substance are pretty evident here too - albeit under the directorial guidance of Harry Bradbeer, Alethea Jones, Nzingha Stewart, and Greg Yaitanes, as well as co-showrunners Oren Uziel and Steve Lightfoot.

All seem to know that, having brought Cage into the fray, you don’t reign him in. So, when the actor admits that his character, Ben Reilly, was conceived as 70% Humphrey Bogart and 30% Bugs Bunny, you tend to just go with it (or get the hell out of dodge).

And believe it or not, the creative decision works. Cage leans into the noir elements and clearly relishes his shot at Bogart, while also paying a certain amount of lip service to fans expecting something quirky. You can see and hear traces of Bugs Bunny during some of his wilder moments.

Both add to the show’s appeal.

Reilly isn’t, of course, a continuation of the character he played in Into The Spider-Verse, but rather a traumatised war veteran still also coming to terms with the death of the love of his life, which he blames in no small part on his alter-ego, The Spider. For it was while he was out keeping New York safe from harm that he failed to save the woman he loved from her watery fate.

As a result, Reilly hung up his mask five years prior to the show’s start and is now working as a down-on-his-luck private eye.

Initially hired by an unseen client to track down a man called Addison - who, once located, turns out to be capable of turning himself into a human torch and setting fire to everything in his path (although not impervious to bullets) - it isn’t long before Reilly is also on the trail of a few more super-powered characters: Flint Marko (Jack Huston), bodyguard to sultry lounge singer Cat Hardy (Li Jun Li); Lonnie Lincoln, aka Tombstone (Abraham Popoola), a powerful underworld enforcer whose skin has become hardened into a cement-like, highly resistant state; and Dirk Leydon, aka Megawatt (Andrew Lewis Caldwell), a powerful individual capable of discharging volatile bursts of bio-electricity.

All are also on the watchlist of city gangster Silvermane (Brendan Gleeson), who has taken over the Big Apple in the past five years, but who fears his reign threatened by unseen forces.

Reilly, for his part, would rather find a cure for the supers than be party to Silvermane’s plans to recruit them, while also falling for Hardy, unaware of her feelings for Marko and her capacity for betrayal.

Assisting him, meanwhile, are the likes of Lamorne Morris, as Reilly’s tenacious newshound buddy Robbie Robertson, and Karen Rodriguez, as his sassy, no-nonsense secretary, Janet.

Early on, Spider-Noir benefits from the obvious camaraderie that exists between the cast members, with witty exchanges nailing the noir vibe its creators were looking for. Indeed, the action is actually kept to a minimum, with both the central mystery and subsequent character building taking precedence.

Cage has long been an immensely enjoyable leading man, especially when allowed to run with a vibe, and here he excels as the world-weary Reilly - a man all too aware of the responsibilities that come with his powers, as well as the tragedies.

He’s a good guy and a nice guy, often at the expense of himself, and Cage makes him a continually appealing presence - and a big part of the reason for tuning in. Whether going full Bogart, or part Bunny, there’s always a keen sense of anticipation in seeing what he’ll do next - and the pivots between the dramatic elements (particularly late on) and the Looney Toons-esque comedy are always well judged.

But former New Girl luminary Morris also proves an equally good foil as Ben’s long-suffering buddy, desperate for his own redemptive arc as a reporter, while Gleason is - as always - a pleasure to be around… undoubtedly always the villain of the piece but someone with nuance and flair. He also shares a good chemistry with Cage and it’s easy to imagine the two enjoyed spending time in each other’s company (and that maybe their shared whiskies were real!).

Elsewhere, Huston brings a nice depth to Marko - a tragic heavy whose performance channels the excellent work he did in Boardwalk Empire, as another battle scarred veteran with a tragic back story.

And Li is a believable femme fatale, while Popoola brings similar complexity to Tombstone - whose own arc gets a rewarding ending.

The look of Spider-Noir is also a big plus, especially if you watched - as undoubtedly intended - in black and white, thereby fully honouring the classic ‘40s noir vibe. It still looks fantastic even with no colour.

And the action is nicely staged, albeit in a B-movie or classic Saturday morning matinee style, rather than anything too modern or grandiose. It maintains the overall classic vibe that everyone was striving to achieve and even keeps events surprisingly grounded.

If there’s a criticism, it’s that some of the middle episodes drag a little, particularly once Ben and Cat explore a tentative romance that never really convinces. And Caldwell also overplays his electric villain, opting for a more pantomime feel than is perhaps necessary.

But in the main, Spider-Noir works as a superhero entry that dares to offer something a little bit different - a throwback to a different era of storytelling that pays smart homage to its many sources of inspiration while also feeling fresh and innovative on its own terms.

Cage, meanwhile, adds another fine performance to a CV already littered with them… the way in which he pulls this particular rabbit out of the hat another masterclass that should leave his fans tingling with delight.