Spider-Noir

Surprisingly good Noir story wrapped in a Spiderman skin. I really love that they doubled down on the theme rather than making it _just another superhero story._

The whole thing was really well put together. Everybody's talking about Nic Cage (well deserved) but all the actors killed it in their roles. I especially loved Li Jun Li as the femme fatale, she stole the scene every time. The cinematography was also excellent aside from some shoddy CGI (especially in the first 2 episodes).

I didn't love it at first, the starting episode was so heavy on exposition and so fast paced to try and set up every character. The season slowly gets better as it goes on though, **especially** starting from episode 4.

P.S. Black and white is so much better it's not even a contest. The whole thing was clearly filmed for B/W I genuiney don't get why people would watch it any other way.

Spider Noir is like Batman, but without the money.

I'll be concise. The series is good, like writing, directing, acting are good. But there is a problem with the Spider-Noir costume that lacks common sense. Unfortunately, they choose the absurd costume that doesn't work in real world.

The perfect costume of Spider-Noir is from the videogame "Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions". It has realistic leather pilot jacket and pilot googles. They obviously missed this.

The series is good artistically and technically, but the choice of the absurd costume is stupid.

Disney could learn from this. It isn't woke, it doesn't lecture to the audiance, at no point in time does it go out of it's way to attack white people, straight people, men, conservatives, Christians, Jews, or any other group that it's popular to hate on the tolerant left....

... and, it doesn't take a hard right lean either, not that many things in Hollywood do, but I don't want to see right wing politics anymore than I want to see left wing politics in my entertainment... I just want escapism.

In fact, it's deliciously modern politics and mythical modern audiance free.

That being out of the way, I know Cage said that he took his inspiration from Boogie but really he seems like he's doing a Jimmy Stewart Call Northside 777 impression for at least the first 4 episodes, after which you start seeing some of the Bogart he claimed. Either way.... it's fun. The Black and White is fun. The music is... meh it's not bad but it's not really fitting all the time, and it's easy to overlook. It certainly loses something when it goes to color, some of the colors pop too much for the Noir feel and it leans more into comic book orange suits, takes you a bit out of the Noir, and when you binge it, it seems to switch betten then from episode to episode.

It doesn't really follow the comics, you have Spider-Clone Ben rather than Peter, and Cage is a WWI vet rather than his uncle, but Cage is older than the character in the comis and it works well regardless.

At the end of the day you have a fun mini-series that is just made to entertain and escape the world and that is what we as an audiance want from entertainment.... that's all we want from entertainment.

Practically everything I would have wanted out of a whole show featuring a live action version of Nicolas Cage's "Spider-Noir" character from the animated Spider-Verse films. While this version of "the Spider" is not quite as comically goofy as the iteration seen in Into the Spider-Verse, it works perfectly for this live-action world, which is more grounded, gritty, and real-feeling, yet still with plenty embracing of the cheesy 30s tropes that made the character so iconic in that movie in the first place. And while the approach to the character is not exactly the same, this story highlighting the darker, much more serious side of the character that we only caught a glimpse of in Spider-Verse (and played for laughs when we did), I still find myself able to believe that yes this is the same guy we met in that film, which is a remarkable feat.

Even outside the context of Into the Spider-Verse, this show's story in and of itself is extraordinarily well-written. The mystery detective plot is among the best I have ever seen in a show, taking the time necessary to build, leaving clues that pay off extremely well and make the show better on rewatch, and clashing characters and their interests / desires against each other in a way that elicits true drama. Legend Brendan Gleeson's Silvermane is a great primary antagonist, but this show has no one villain, and everybody, even our protagonists, are morally grey to one extent or another.

Although he plays a minor role in the show, I must give a massive shoutout to Cameron Britton, who absolutely disappears into his role. I knew Britton was in the cast, but had no clue that character was him until the Amazon information screen told me it was. Comparing how he looks in this show to his character in Paradise is as night-and-day a difference as Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow vs. Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka.

One thing I love about Spider-Noir is how not only is it set in the 1930s, but it goes so far as to mimic 1930s filmmaking tactics, with miniatures of New York City and fight scenes that use masterful editing trickery and practical effects to create spectacle over CGI. That is the majority of the show, but then every now and then they hit you with a one-off scene that fully embraces modern filmmaking to remind you that this is a contemporary show, and to keep the tone fresh, exciting, and unique.

While it is not the main focus of the show, that would be the mystery plot and Ben Reilly (the Spider)'s personal character growth, there's a 1930s period piece aspect to Spider-Noir that I quite enjoyed as well. It repeatedly shows us that this is in fact the Great Depression, nobody has money, everybody's hungry, and everybody is, indeed, depressed. There is racism commentary as well that is of course highly relevant to today's time, but I think there may be a legitimate question of how essential this theme / plotline was to the story versus how much of it was Amazon checking the woke diversity box. I think a little of both is probably the case, and Tombstone's inclusion in the story would at minimum somewhat necessitate a commentary on the racism of the time, so I think the show gets away with it. It's sad that this has to be a question we ask now.

Li Jun Li (Chinese lady from Sinners) is REMARKABLE as the most prominent woman in this story. Truly, remarkable. Much of this is to do with the great writing of her character, but Li completely understands the assignment and may even be my vote for Best Supporting Actress if I got an Emmy vote.

The biggest downside of the show to my viewing experience was probably that the mystery was TOO intricate. I tried binging the first 4 episodes at once, because I was legitimately that hooked, but in doing so, my brain got tired and I realized by the end of e4 I had lost the plot somewhat. So, I went back and started from the very beginning -- a very good place to start. I'm glad I did, because it showed me how good this show is on rewatch, especially those first few episodes where Reilly and us the audience are still figuring out everything that's going on. Plus, I did indeed understand the plot better by the end of e4's second viewing. But, I still can't say I got it 100%. It's a show that will have to be watched over and over and over to have down really everything that's going on to understand the ins and outs of the main mystery plot at play. It's still quite doable to follow what you need to know from a character and plot perspective throughout, but there will likely be things here and there where it's like "wait, I forget where that came from / how that's relevant", but these moments are of minor importance to overall understanding.

It could also be said that the show switches gears about 3/4 of the way through the season, becoming almost a medical horror randomly, and it is justified by the plot, and these "medical horror" episodes are terrific, but tonally it does feel like an abrupt narrative shift. It is one that I would argue pays off more than it detracts, but it is an abrupt narrative shift for at least an episode.

Spider-Noir is a good TV show. Feeling a strong A on this one.

Spider-Noir: An Experience Best Seen in Black and White



Spider-Noir is, honestly, a magnificent series.

From the very beginning, I was impressed by the concept and, above all, by its ability to create an identity of its own. It doesn’t feel like just another superhero series. Here we have 1930s New York, detectives, organized crime, mystery, and a completely noir aesthetic that works especially well.

And if there’s one thing I recommend above everything else, it’s watching it in black and white.

The series is also available in color, but I think it loses some of the magic that makes Spider-Noir so special. The cinematography, shadows, lighting, sets, and overall atmosphere all seem made to be experienced this way. It’s not simply a matter of taking an image and removing the color. The entire visual presentation becomes much stronger and manages to create the feeling of watching a classic film noir. In fact, the black-and-white version was one of the production’s main visual choices.

And then there’s the cast.

Nicolas Cage is spectacular as Ben Reilly. His performance is very distinctive, but it fits the tone of the series perfectly. The rest of the cast is just as strong: Lamorne Morris, Li Jun Li, Karen Rodriguez, Brendan Gleeson, Jack Huston, and the rest of the ensemble give this version of New York a life of its own.

I also found the story very interesting. It has mystery, investigation, action, and that Spider-Man element that is always present, but without turning everything into the typical superhero story. It’s precisely that combination of film noir and the Spider-Man universe that makes it work so well.

It’s also one of those shows that makes you think, “Come on, just one more.” And before you know it, you’re practically dying to finish all eight episodes. The season consists of eight episodes, each roughly 45 minutes long.

I also like that Spider-Noir has its own personality. At a time when so many productions seem to follow very similar formulas, this series clearly has an intention to do something different and maintain a very specific aesthetic and tone. And I think that really shows.

It’s a shame that we ultimately won’t be getting a second season. Prime Video canceled the series after its first season, although in a way, the story works as a complete season, and the creator himself has said that he considered it a self-contained story.

And perhaps that’s exactly why I think it’s even more important to recommend it: it’s eight episodes, a story with a beginning and an ending, and a visual concept that genuinely deserves to be experienced.

If you like Spider-Man, film noir, detective stories, or simply want to watch something different, I think Spider-Noir deserves a chance. And if you watch it, do yourself a favor and watch it in black and white. That’s where, for me, a big part of its magic lies.