Spider-Noir functions as a sumptuous declaration of love to film noir (review)

Spider-Noir is a pure noir thriller in the form of a total and unapologetic homage to the noir films of the 1940s. Or when Spider-Man sees everything in black… and white.

What if Sam Spade had had the gift of weaving webs with his hands?

This is roughly the rather enjoyable concept that fuels Spider-Noir, the new Prime Video series, which will be launched on May 27 on Prime Video.

Nicolas Cage wanders through the New York of the Great Depression, as an old private detective aping Humphrey Bogart in The Maltese Falcon, with a cinephile’s jubilation that exudes from the small screen every time he casts a dark and inscrutable look at his partner… Because Spider-Noir was imagined, thought out, shaped as an immense homage to the Hollywood noir films of the 30s and 40s, with the overwhelming shadow of Bogart, Mitchum and consorts hovering over the entire series. That’s how it should be seen, and that’s how it works.

Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, behind the Oscar-winning animated film Spider-Man: New Generation, are producing this spin-off which takes the character (already voiced by Cage in original version) and brings him to life in live-action. Without having the mind-blowing inventiveness of the spectacular animated Spider-Verse, this original variation of the weaver compensates with a very assumed identity. Spider-Noir (character originally co-created in 2009 in Marvel comics, by French screenwriter Fabrice Sapolsky) is actually called Ben O’Reilly. He is over fifty. Worn out by the incessant fighting, depressed by the violent death of the love of his life, he prefers to chat with his glass of whiskey rather than save the world. Besides, he put away his superhero costume. Ben doesn’t want to be Spider-thing anymore. The problem is that as a private detective, he’s not really that great. But a case will put him, despite himself, at the center of the game, and make him cross paths with the formidable Silvermane, who has taken over the Big Apple…

It’s truly a unique proposition in the landscape of Marvel adaptations. No one has ever filmed Spider-Man like this. Aesthetically sublime right down to the end of the filter, Spider-Noir offers breathtaking plasticity. The production design is magnificent. Each damp alley, each smoky office, each ray of light passing through the blinds seems to come from an old forgotten Hollywood thriller. The photography, especially in its black and white version, is sometimes downright incredible. So yes, Prime Video offers the series in two formats – color or black & white – but let’s be honest, everything about Spider-Noir indicates that it was filmed to be seen in black & white. This is literally what gives the experience its depth and does justice to the retro spirit of the character.

From the ultra-worked framing to the ultra-machine-gunned dark dialogues like a disillusioned old detective, the series goes all out in the genre. Sometimes even pushing the archetype sliders to the maximum. The “film noir” aspect is so strong that it regularly borders on caricature. Everything is excessively black. The melancholy voice-overs. The femme fatales. The thugs who talk like in The Big Sleep (1946). And the alcoholic detectives staring at the rain behind a window… We quickly understand that the series is not entirely viewed at face value. But rather as a declaration of love to an outdated and disappeared genre.

An outdated atmosphere that works as long as we accept its excesses.

Because the script completely assumes this overflow of references and plays intelligently with the codes of “noir”. Because the series is smart enough to understand what it is: an exercise in style. And especially because it counts Nicolas Cage as an ambassador.

The actor histrionics in the best sense of the word and seems to take immense pleasure in playing this tired old detective lost in a New York plagued by corruption. A huge, theatrical, sometimes absurd performance… but always captivating. Opposite him, Brendan Gleeson appears to be the perfect complement. His raw charisma and imposing presence are even reminiscent of what Vincent D’Onofrio has brought to Daredevil for years.

The result is strange, imperfect, sometimes almost too strong… but terribly seductive.

Ideal for those who are tired of the friendly, hyper-calibrated Spider-Man played by Tom Holland. A refreshing alternative before the release of the big blockbuster marked Brand New Day. And the best thing is that we will also find Spider-Noir in a year in Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse (released in summer 2027) in cinemas…

Spider-Noir, in 8 episodes, to watch on Prime Video, from May 27 in France.