‘Spider-Noir’ review: Nicolas Cage rules in a Spider-Man story unlike any you’ve seen before

What’s black and white and fun all over? Spider-Noir, a new superhero series led by Nicolas Cage.

The show has its roots in 2018’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, in which Cage voiced the Spider-Man variant known as Spider-Man Noir. Appearing in black and white and always accompanied by a rain-scented wind, Spider-Man Noir managed to steal scenes in a film already overflowing with goodness. A large part of that comes down to the casting of Cage, who commits wholeheartedly to Spider-Man Noir’s over-the-top slangy dialogue. (“You gonna fight or you just bumping gums, you hard-boiled turtle-slapper?”) That Cage’s work is much-memed adds an extra layer of hilarity to the role, a wink to the audience that yes, the film got the Nicolas Cage to channel old-timey film detectives.

As much of a scene stealer as he is, Spider-Man Noir is only onscreen for about five and a half minutes of Into the Spider-Verse. With Spider-Noir, Cage gets to take this Spider-Man variant to new heights in a technically dazzling thrill ride. Sure, it’s familiar — it’s a Spider-Man story, and we’ve seen plenty of those! — but Spider-Noir manages to find a new lease on spidey life with its loving embrace of film noir.

What’s Spider-Noir about?

The superhero we meet in Spider-Noir is not the same one from Into the Spider-Verse. Cage plays Ben Reilly, a down-on-his-luck private investigator who once moonlighted as New York City’s only hero, the Spider.

Like the Spider-Verse films, Spider-Noir knows we’ve seen enough Spider-Man origin stories to fill hundreds of comic books, so it wisely motors through the beats we’re familiar with. In the first of the show’s many stylish flairs, it overlays scenes from Ben’s life on windows of a New York City skyscraper he’s climbed, catching us up to speed on all things Spider. That includes him meeting, then losing, the love of his life, Ruby. Following her death, Ben hung up his mask and goggles for good.

However, just because Ben’s retired the Spider doesn’t mean he won’t wind up trapped in dangerous webs of others’ making. And Spider-Noir presents a fascinating web indeed, one involving crime lord Silvermane (Brendan Gleeson), lounge singer Cat Hardy (Li Jun Li), and a rogue’s gallery of superpowered men, including well-known Spider-Man villains like Flint Marko (Jack Huston), aka Sandman, and Lonnie Lincoln (Abraham Popoola), aka Tombstone.

Spider-Noir is a gorgeous love letter to film noir.

Li Jun Li in “Spider-Noir.”
Credit: Prime

The way these threads converge isn’t necessarily ground-breaking. Obviously, Ben will put on the mask and seek redemption, even if he doesn’t think it’s worth it. And obviously, the origins of these superpowered villains have ties to Ben’s own genetic mutation. But the show’s carefully calibrated style manages to make each familiar plot point feel like a new discovery.

Recent superhero shows have tried to set themselves apart by dabbling in genres beyond just “superhero.” That’s how you get gangster dramas like The Penguin, or a legal comedy like She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. But not since WandaVision has a show so thoroughly immersed itself in a different genre. Unlike WandaVision, Spider-Noir holds fast to its genre trappings throughout, and that steadfastness elevates it over every other superhero show’s genre dabbling.

The visuals are the key here, starting with the show’s unique presentation. Prime Video offers viewers the choice of watching in both black and white and color. While I recommend checking out the color version at least once to take in all the details on the show’s costumes and set pieces, black and white is certainly the way to go here. Spider-Noir thrives in the contrast between light and dark, casting bold, inky shadows across city streets in pointed tribute to the film noir genre that inspired it. In a world where so many TV shows are underlit or visually flat, it’s a joy to see a series take full advantage of lighting as a key way to build mood and atmosphere.

Elsewhere, Spider-Noir has a ball with stylistic staples of the film noir genre, from Dutch angles to a moody score, courtesy of Kris Bowers and Michael Dean Parsons. Don’t think of Spider-Noir as being focused on style over substance, though. It’s more style as substance, as the series engages seriously with film noir’s thematic tropes. Ben is a classic world-weary antihero, while Li’s enigmatic Cat falls squarely into the femme fatale archetype, going from crooner to double-crosser at the drop of a fedora.

Nicolas Cage was meant for Spider-Noir.

Nicolas Cage in “Spider-Noir.”
Credit: Aaron Epstein / Prime

Film noir — and ’30s-era films in general — are key to Spider-Noir because they’re key to Ben as well. As he reveals to Cat, in the wake of his mutation, he was overcome with arachnid instincts. He had to go to the movies to relearn how to be human from the actors.

That gives Cage free reign to channel film noir’s leading men, and he does it with gusto. In Ben’s scenes with his closest confidants, like his secretary Janet (Karen Rodriguez) or his reporter friend Robbie (Lamorne Morris), he carries himself more naturally, with a tinge of grumpiness. Once he’s out in the field, though, he dials up the hard-boiled detective to a solid 11. He slings quips like they’re webs, alternating between charming and brooding his way out of danger.

Ben’s bag of tricks also includes disguising himself. He poses as everything from a plumber to a doctor in his efforts to crack his case, and Cage embraces a new outlandish persona in each role. Viewers may be tempted to add these moments to their “Nicolas Cage losing his shit”-style compilations, but these moments, on top of being extra fun, do remain motivated by the needs of the show. Rarely does Spider-Noir unleash a Cage crash out for memes’ sake. (Although the show does play up the meme-iness a little bit, like when Morris unleashes a surprisingly solid Cage impression in the perfect context.)

Cage’s dedication to a role as strange as “film noir detective Spider-Man” especially shines through when Ben succumbs to his spider instincts. His physicality is both mesmerizing and bizarre, whether he’s contorting himself in strange ways or just lying, twitching, on his bed. While his voice acting in Into the Spider-Verse is delightful, it’s moments like this, where you see Cage embodying Ben’s uncanny physical experience, that made me truly understand why this show exists.

Between Cage’s performance and distinct styling, Spider-Noir proves that there’s still ways to freshen up superhero shows. The key is just commitment.

All episodes of Spider-Noir premiere May 27 on Prime Video.