Spider-Man has always been a lot stranger than his popularity implies. But the MCU efforts were never weird. Not really. Not like David Cronenberg’s "The Fly" (which shares a similar origin story) or even relatively popular versions of the Spider-Man comics. Take Spider-Man Noir, as written by David Hine and Fabrice Sapolsky: His origin story involves a "spider-god idol," a meeting with the spider-god Itself, and a rebirth via cocoon. Now that’s weird. To expect an Amazon Prime series built around an Oscar-winning movie star to go to similar lengths would be absurd, but "Spider-Noir" — an adaptation of the 2009 comic book, not a spinoff of the "Spider-Verse" animated films — embraces its half-man, half-arthropod’s gnarly roots with far more demented glee than could’ve been reasonably expected. The result serves as a juicy showcase for the king of crazy-brilliant characters, Nicolas Cage, as well as a slick addition to the noir genre, complete with eye-catching cinematography that adds to the series’ oddball appeal.
When we’re introduced to Ben Reilly (Cage), he’s long retired from his swinging side gig. Five years ago, his fiancée died in a tragic accident, and "The Spider" (as he’s known here) disappeared into a nihilistic shame hole. Shifting the tragic source of our hero’s moral imperative from a felled parental figure to the love of his life makes for a nice fit with the new genre. "With great power comes great responsibility, and she was the greatest responsibility I had," Reilly says via voiceover. "And I failed her. The Spider failed her."
So he hung up his mask and goggles but kept his fedora and trench coat, patrolling the streets as a private investigator, albeit one whose heart isn’t in it. He’s tailing women cheating on their husbands, husbands cheating on their wives, or nogoodniks cheating somebody out of something — not exactly inspiring work. His secretary, Janet (Karen Rodriguez), tries to nudge him to try a little harder, take a few more clients, and make enough money to, you know, pay her salary. His friend and freelance reporter, Robbie (Lamorne Morris), reminds him the city still needs a hero, and Robbie still needs stories to sell to the local papers.
But Reilly doesn’t stir back to life until he sees (and hears) Cat Hardy (Li Jun Li), a nightclub singer whose showcase number stops him cold. Is she a new friend, offering a cure for heartache with a love potion all her own, or an enemy in disguise, ready to use a lost soul to further her goals? The femme fatale does, after all, work for Silvermane (Brendan Gleeson), an Irish mob boss with the whole Big Apple in his grip — that is, until recent assassination attempts spur doubts over the terrifying hold he once had on his unwilling subjects. These attacks soon overlap with Reilly’s meager case load, prompting a pang of responsibility to revive his retired powers and sending the sleuth down a mysterious rabbit hole with a familiar path filled with invigorating flourishes.
The cast is just as sharp. Gleeson’s casual menace and black sense of humor make for an ideal foil to Cage’s quip-cracking do-gooder. Li once again thrives behind the mic, as she did so memorably in "Babylon," and Morris takes to 1930s reporting even smoother than he did Coens-esque policing (for which, you should recall, he won an Emmy). Cage, meanwhile, is in his element. His spin on The Spider stands in distinction from any other, carrying echoes of "Face/Off," "Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call – New Orleans," and "Ghost Rider," in part because Reilly is cursed with keeping his inner tick from emerging as anything other than an odd tic or two. He twists his limbs as if they have seven joints instead of three. He sometimes "sleeps" while posed like a cockroach playing dead. His spidey sense hits like a bad hangover, and he lives in the shadows, like he’s afraid of getting squished. By the time "Spider-Noir" flashes back to show Reilly’s fateful bite, it’s no surprise the scenario is far more twisted than past pinches (and the ensuing "nightmare" episode makes for quite the run of bizarro storytelling).
Some of these wilder moments are played for horror, others for laughs, and it’s a credit to Cage that he can hold them all within a leading man who’s mostly an homage to noir movie stars. I mentioned Cagney earlier because there’s a scene where Reilly goes to the movies and repeats every line the actor utters, as if he’s teaching himself how to be a human being. His exaggerated accent stems from the same adopted imitation, but none of these big choices keep us from identifying with our hero’s humanity. He’s a funny drunk, a chivalrous flirt, and an over-the-hill fighter. Together, Cage and "Spider-Noir" are a perfect pair. His star power helps draw viewers into an increasingly strange story, and the increasingly strange story draws out the power of his go-for-broke charms. That the series houses its mad science experiments and cartoonish fight scenes in familiar packaging goes a long way toward keeping it accessible, but the charming eccentricities and their astute implementation add up to a Spider-story worth investing in — bring on the strange.
Grade: B+
"Spider-Noir" premieres Monday, May 25 on MGM’s linear channel and Wednesday, May 27 on Amazon Prime. All eight episodes will be released at once. But in my opinion, the black-and-white version is primarily fun for the vibes — a James Cagney-inspired Spider-Man dodging lightning bolts is such a peculiar fantasy to see brought to life — but the vibrancy of the costumes, sets, and performances give color the overall edge. Either way, "Perry Mason" cinematographer Darran Tiernan delivers a ton of canted angles, revealing mirrors, split diopter shots — and at least one frame that includes all three! Personally, I think that the series is a perfect showcase for Nicolas Cage's star power and a slick addition to the noir genre. What makes this particularly fascinating is that it embraces the gnarly roots of the half-man, half-arthropod with demented glee. In my opinion, the series is a must-watch for fans of the Spider-Man universe and the noir genre.
