In his first main television role, Nicolas Cage absolutely shines in Spider-Noir, one of the more refreshing TV experiences in the medium's recent history.
Spider-Noir just premiered on MGM+ and Prime Video on Monday, May 25, and Wednesday, May 27, respectively. The new Spider-Man series evolves around a private investigator named Ben Reilly (Cage), also known as The Spider. Ben teams up with Donegal (Cameron Britton) as they look into a nightclub singer named Cat Hardy (Li Jun Li), whose husband Carmedy suspects her of cheating.
Their first target was a malefactor and powerful pyrotechnic by the name of Jimmy Addison, who's revealed to have been a rival of a crime boss known as Silvermane. The lattermost character is played to perfection by Brendan Gleeson, while other names among the Spider-Noir cast include Lamorne Morris as Joe "Robbie" Robertson and Li Jun Li as Felicia "Cat" Hardy.
It's the Cat Hardy storyline that kicks episode 1 into its true gear: When protagonist Ben Reilly first arrives at the Alcove nightclub, he's graced with a rendition of "Dream a Little Dream of Me" by his target. It's a fantastic introduction of the Cat Hardy character, who Ben attempts to blackmail.
She then sends a super-powered character named Flint Marko after the story's protagonist, this new character being a fan-favorite Spider-Man figure who's able to turn his body completely into sand. Before he went missing and Ben agreed to track him down as the episode's final sequence, main antagonist Silvermane tortures and interrogates Donegal before ultimately killing him. Oh, it's that kind of show?
Spider-Noir's familiar setting of a 1930s New York City facilitates some gorgeous visuals, whether fans choose to watch Spider-Noir in color or black and white. What's more, for this latest comic-book series, Spider-Noir also excels from a general perspective of storytelling, with compelling plot points moving at a wonderful pace and dialogue running a gamut of emotion.
It's humorous in one moment and poignant in the next. The dialogue in Spider-Noir is often punctuated by action. And, again, the imagery is incredible, particularly when viewed in its native black and white.
Taking cues from such classic noir movies, as The Maltese Falcon (1941), executive producers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller also drew inspiration from later movies like Chinatown (1974) when bringing the characters in Spider-Noir to life.
Of course, The Maltese Falcon was shot in black and white, and while there's color in Chinatown, its subdued hues evoke a classic feel. The same thing goes for the color version of Spider-Noir.
Off to a great start, Spider-Noir shines a bright light on the superhero genre that's become a plague on the medium. Here's hoping episode 2 can ride the momentum established by the pilot.
Stay tuned on Show Snob for more reviews of Spider-Noir as it's streaming on Prime Video. All eight episodes of the new series from Sony Pictures are available to stream right now.
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