Nicolas Cage can do no wrong in my books. From first seeing him in Con Air, growing up with the National Treasure films, to seeing his recent horror undertaking in Longlegs, his range is massive. While Spider-Noir is not Cage’s first foray into Marvel, with his early 2000s appearances in the Ghost Rider films, this role was specifically made for him. Let me say: if you are not a fan of Cage and his Nicolas Cage-isms, then this may still irk you.
Prime Video graciously invited CGMagazine to preview the first couple of episodes, showcasing them in both formats—Authentic Black and White and True-Hue Full Colour. Spider-Noir is a live-action series based on the Marvel comic Spider-Man Noir. The series tells the story of Ben Reilly, a seasoned, down-on-his-luck private investigator in 1930s New York, who is forced to grapple with his past life, following a deeply personal tragedy, as the city’s one and only superhero—The Spider.
Getting the most asked question out of the way, what is the best way to view Spider-Noir? After seeing both formats across the first three episodes, I can confidently say to stick with Authentic Black and White, at least for the first watch. The True-Hue Full Colour style feels like a treat to watch the series back, more so to see how set designs and superpowers are actually coloured, or what colour suits or dresses the characters have on.
The black-and-white visual style worked so well for the tone and grittiness of this Spider-Man world. Whoever was the set designer or set the 1930s/1940s feel really nailed the aesthetics of clubs and streets back then. If you ignore the lung cancer harm, there is always something really cool about seeing smoke puffs in a music club—especially in black and white. Ultimately, it felt like this series was meant to be experienced in black and white.
Still, the full colour version was cool to see how vibrant everyone’s attire truly is. I felt like they could have done exactly what Werewolf by Night did by releasing the colour format later. But I am not upset that they offered both options out of the gate. Another thing I would have liked to have seen with the full colour format was for the colours to pop even more. It would have been cool if they added in major details that would go unnoticed in black and white, and could only be useful to the story to see it in colour. Overall, there needed to be something special about this colour format.
“The cinematography truly made the whole gritty, hard-boiled noir look of the show.”
If you have read many of my film/TV reviews, you know I love great music and/or score. It is one of the only aspects of a piece of media that is typically not seen, but helps explain the emotions of the characters or events happening on the screen. Not only does the score in Spider-Noir feel like I was in the 1930s, but the theme song transported me into a James Bond film. The visuals that accompany it reminded me of every James Bond film’s opening theme, with its storytelling of the specific Bond movie.
Photo: Courtesy of Prime
© Amazon Content Services LLC
To make this historical fiction story work, a Marvel historical fiction no less, the actors and characters have to play their parts to match the right energy. As I have said before, Cage fit this role perfectly. He first voiced the character in the Sony animated feature, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, but embodying the character in this live-action series still worked.
Lamorne Morris (Saturday Night) as The Daily Bugle photojournalist Robbie Robertson worked very well, with Morris’ fast-talking comedy and regular speech. While he has some good quips in this series, he also has some great dramatic moments. As for the femme fatale of Spider-Noir, Li Jun Li (Sinners) commanded a performance as someone who appears as the damsel in distress who is secretly capable as Felicia “Cat” Hardy—aka Black Cat from the comics. Brendan Gleeson as Silvermane was the perfect Irish gangster/kingpin role for him, showing why he is not to be messed with.
“Not only does the score in Spider-Noir feel like I was in the 1930s, but the theme song transported me into a James Bond film.”
The cinematography truly made the whole gritty, hard-boiled noir look of the show. Additionally, the framing of certain scenes also elevated the storytelling by emphasizing key details while Ben attempts to solve the mysteries behind the rabbit hole he finds himself going down. The amount of tilt and Dutch angle shots was plenty, but matched the energy of the 1930s crime look. Certain set camera shots reminded me of older 60s-70s superhero live-action television shows, on a similar wavelength to the Batman or Incredible Hulk shows.
Photo: Aaron Epstein/Prime
© Amazon Content Services LLC
With what I have seen in these first few episodes, the stunt work and fight choreography are impressive. The CGI/VFX webslinging initially looks a little aloof and off-putting, both in black and white and colour. However, it looked cool in first-person. The overall action set pieces felt dynamic enough that they did not always feel telegraphed, nor did they rely on VFX work to sell the fast movements. It was a mix of both, with great blocking at times to sell some of the more chaotic Spidey action.
As much as Spider-Noir looks like a masterpiece, I could not help but feel like something was off about the show. The dialogue could have gone through a few more passes. The back-and-forth between Ben and Janet (Karen Rodriguez) reminded me of Matt Murdock and Foggy Nelson in Netflix’s Daredevil seasons when they are working a case. Charlie Cox and Elden Henson had some special chemistry with their friendly banter, but it did not feel that way for Spider-Noir’s Cage and Rodriguez. I hope seeing all their interactions by the end of the season proves me wrong, though.
My initial impressions of Spider-Noir are that it will be a great series, which stands out strongly on its own. Knowing this does not need to fit in any grand scheme of the MCU is great, and I could tell freed up the creative team to take bold risks with this show. While I have some nitpicky issues with the script, I could overlook them for the fresh setting and vibe of this Spider-Man story. Spider-Noir is an entertaining watch for fans of Nicolas Cage or those looking for a fresh Spider-Man take that takes you back in time.
