I’m way behind on TV series at the moment, so I thought I would get into Spider Noir from the start and try to keep up. I ended up binging the entire show over the weekend.
At first, when I heard about a series of a spin-off from the Spider-Verse, I was doubtful. However, when I saw the trailer for Spider Noir, I was kind of interested.
As you know, Spider Noir stars Nick Cage, Lamorne Morris, Li Jun Li, Karen Rodriguez, and Brendan Gleeson. I don’t know about you, but people like Cage and Gleeson are a tick of approval for me.
The Story
I’m not going to break down the entire story of Spider Noir, but I will say it’s good, really good.
We open in 1930s New York, and Ben Reilly (Cage) is a down-on-his-luck private investigator. He is also the Spider, a superhero with the powers of a spider. #spoiler
However, he’s not been the spider for a while, after a tragic accident. Isn’t it always the way?
Ben is hired to find a man who, it turns out, also has superpowers; he can make fire at will. He then ends up investigating Silvermane (Gleeson), who’s a local mobster. As time goes on, Silvermane is trying to run the city and using other ‘supers’ to help him get it.
There’s a lot more to it as it unfolds, including an origin story of Ben and the other supers, which is very satisfying, but I won’t spoil it here.
Noir
I’m a fan of the old school crime thrillers like this. The effects are good, making it all look like 1930s New York, and the style reminded me of, well, early noir movies, The Third Man, Sunset Boulevard, and The Maltese Falcon.
Spider Noir is very stylised, but in a good way. There’s a lot of care and attention gone into the cinematography, and it really works. There is even old-school split-screen focus, which I haven’t seen since Brian DePalma.
Cage is great as Ben, his New York accent is spot on, and his whole swagger is a private dick from the 1930s. Including the drinking, there’s a lot of drinking.
B&W vs Colour
The style of Spider Noir leads me to the decision to release it in black and white and in colour. I went for the black and white at first, since I like movies from days gone by. Since this was ‘noir’, I thought the black and white would add more of the atmosphere.
I was right! At the start of a couple of episodes, I tried it in colour, and it looked horrible! I would say they even ramped up the colour saturation, but then, it might have been as I was used to the black and white version.
Chances are, some people watched it in colour, as they aren’t fans of things in mono, but man, did I prefer the black and white version. It added a level of depth that really made the series stand out.
Overall
I’m not going to break down Spider Noir, the ins and outs, the clever photography, the interesting story. What I will say, though, is that it was really good!
As I said, I’m behind on TV series, mainly from being put off things that long. There are a few series I would like to start, but then see there are 15 seasons, with over 24 episodes, all of which are 50 minutes each. I’m put off before I even start.
Let alone investing in a series for it only to fall off the rails. I love Mando seasons 1 and 2, but the third season was an Amber Heard in the bed.
I’m not sure if they will make another season of Spider Noir, but this one season is worth your time! If you are going to watch it, I suggest the black and white version.
Overall, I’m giving Spider Noir a solid 4.5 out of 5. It did drag a little, but not enough to put me off, and I really liked the origin story, which got really creepy at one point.
