TV review: 'Spider-Noir' showcases unhinged, sincere Nicolas Cage
by Fred Topel · UPILOS ANGELES, May 22 (UPI) -- Spider-Noir, on Prime Video Wednesday, fulfills the promise of the character's Into the Spider-Verse cameo. It places a Spider-Man in a 1930s film noir world and lets Nicolas Cage react to that jarring combination.
Ben Reilly (Cage) is a 1930s private detective who gave up being The Spider five years ago when he could not save his love, Ruby Williams (Amanda Schull). When Carmedy (Ben Howe) hires Ben to follow his wife, Cat (Li Jun Li), it leads Ben to a much bigger case than possible adultery.
Ben's narration introduces the show by asking what universe this is. Ben himself doesn't know about others but it alludes to the concept of the multiverse from the animated movie.
It also insinuates Ben is not the same Spider-Noir who met Miles Morales and Spider-Ham so there must be at least two Great Depression Spider-Men in the multiverse. Also, this one probably wouldn't be rated PG like the animated film.
Cage adopts a James Cagney/Humphrey Bogart cadence as Ben. It's enough to be period and genre, but not so much to be distracting.
1930s New York is ruled by the gangster Silvermane (Brendan Gleeson), for whom Cat sings in a nightclub. Ben does classic P.I. surveillance like stakeouts and sneaking photos under his newspaper.
The scripts capture the snappy banter of Hollywood film noirs with Li giving good femme fatale repartee. Cat says, "I just painted my nails." Ben responds, "Sharpened them too."
She's equally sharp with Silvermane. He says, "I don't dwell" and she replies, "'Maybe you should start." These lines dance around the plot but still deliver cutting barbs that are relevant to it.
Ben will still shoot a web to intervene in abuse, or to hide in a closet and hold the door shut with a web. His Spidey sense gives him migraines.
Ben encounters '30s versions of other Marvel characters like Flint Marko (Jack Huston) and Dirk Leydon (Andrew Lewis Caldwell). They exhibit skewed versions of their comic book superpowers.
With other Marvel villains around, Ben does have to become The Spider again to battle these supervillains. He catches Tommy guns in his web, and webslings out of the way of '30s cars.
Cage gets to act much more extreme when Ben is hungover after a night of drinking with Silvermane, or comes home from a rough night of crime-fighting. He makes spider-movements in flashbacks to his origin story.
But this is not a spoof or freak show. Ben is also vulnerable and dramatically sincere.
Screeners were provided in both the color and black and white versions, and honestly both offer a worthwhile experience. Black and white emphasizes the shadows in alleys and build-up the supervillain reveals.
It's the version that reflects the Spider-Verse character. However, the color version has bright comic book colors more akin to Dick Tracy. The fact that a color version exist also suggests this is a different Spider-Noir than the animated one.
Spider-Noir is faithful to both the film noir genre and the Marvel comics. Cage gives his full commitment to the most bizarre and the simple tragedy of a down on his luck P.I. who happens to have superpowers.
Fred Topel, who attended film school at Ithaca College, is a UPI entertainment writer based in Los Angeles. He has been a professional film critic since 1999, a Rotten Tomatoes critic since 2001, and a member of the Television Critics Association since 2012 and the Critics Choice Association since 2023. Read more of his work in Entertainment.
Nicolas Cage, Lamorne Morris attend 'Spider-Noir' premiere
Star Nicolas Cage arrives on the red carpet at Prime Video's "Spider-Noir" world premiere at Regal Times Square in New York City on May 13, 2026. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo