For the past several months, I’ve been neglecting my television time.
Since I began using AI, I’m working more hours and later into the day. (Spending less time accomplishing the same work is certainly an option with AI, but for me it was an opportunity to take on more work!)
I still finish my official workday at about 10:00 or 10:30, after which comes the time I usually allocate to reading fiction or watching TV. But with the extra hours crammed into the day (hours immersed in writing, editing, meetings, AI projects, business ideas, and whatever new obsession happened to materialize that morning), my energy reserve is blinking red by then – allowing me enough mental alertness for perhaps 15 to 20 minutes of entertainment before my brain quietly waves the white flag.
And that – as I’ve mentioned before – is why I’ve become something of a connoisseur of YouTube videos with irresistible titles like Instant Karma and Karens Gone Wild. They’re miniature dramas. Three to seven minutes. Beginning, middle, end. Perfect for an exhausted mind.
But one evening I happened upon the trailer for the Spider-Noir series on MGM+ and Prime Video. Something about it – the title itself, the smoky detective-office atmosphere, and Nicolas Cage’s weary voice – made me think, “This might be something I can sit through.”
And so, I started to watch it. And, instead of switching it off after 10 or 15 minutes, I watched the entire first episode. Seven evenings later, I’d finished the series.
As it turned out, Spider-Noir was not just something I could sit through, it was something my weary brain needed.
So for the first time in a very long time, I have something I consider worth watching to recommend to you. (I think the last time was October of last year.)
Meanwhile, I’ve refined the rating system I use to evaluate all the stuff I watch – the movies and the TV series – the latest (and most anal) version of which you’ll find at the end of this review…
Spider-Noir
What Is It?
Spider-Noir is an eight-episode live-action series set in Depression-era New York City. It stars Nicolas Cage as Ben Reilly, an aging private detective haunted by his past as the city’s masked vigilante. When a new conspiracy begins to unfold, he is reluctantly drawn back into a world of corruption, violence, and unfinished business.
The supporting cast includes Lamorne Morris as reporter Robbie Robertson and Brendan Gleeson as crime boss Silvermane. Morris plays his part – as a still-ambitious but aging-out reporter who is also Reilly’s confidant – flawlessly. And Gleeson is absolutely amazing as the soft-spoken but terrifying mob kingpin – the perfect nemesis for Cage’s weary ex-superhero – as the two contend with one another in the series’ melancholy, rain-soaked world.
Why It Worked for Me
I was surprised to find that there were more than a few critics who found fault with Spider-Noir, and even one who panned it. I believe the mistake they made was in thinking they were reviewing a series about the adventures of a superhero.
They weren’t. Although Spider-Noir borrows characters and ideas from the Spider-Man universe, it is really an old-fashioned film noir detective story. That’s a very different thing.
If you go into Spider-Noir expecting to enjoy the pace, spectacle, and constant action of a modern superhero production, you may be disappointed. Spider-Noir lives in a different genre, where the story unfolds deliberately, the action is sparse, and long stretches are devoted to conversations, investigations, and atmosphere.
But that’s precisely why I enjoyed it. The series reminds me much more of The Third Man and Kiss Me Deadly than of anything in the Marvel universe. The superhero elements feel almost incidental – small bursts of fantasy dropped into an otherwise traditional film noir.
Another thing I like about it is the casting of Nicolas Cage. His performances often seem strangely restrained one moment and oddly theatrical the next. Here, those eccentricities become strengths. His tired, cynical detective feels completely believable – a surprisingly moving portrait of a man carrying years of disappointment. In fact, I think this may be my favorite Nicolas Cage performance since Raising Arizona.
The writing deserves equal praise. The dialogue sounds as though it belongs in a Humphrey Bogart picture without becoming a parody.
And the cinematography is just as confident. Every shadow, every rain-slicked street, every cigarette plume contributes to a world that feels authentic without becoming self-important.
Where It Falls Short
There was very little about Spider-Noir that disappointed me. But I understand why some critics reacted negatively. I think they judged the series against the wrong standard. As I said, Spider-Noir isn’t trying to reinvent the Spider-Man films. It’s trying to revive classic film noir. Judged by that standard, I think it succeeds remarkably well.
Critical Reception
Rotten Tomatoes gives the Spider-Noir series a critics’ score of 92% and an audience score of 90%.
Lucy Mangan of The Guardian praised its rich noir atmosphere and described it as “huge fun.”
Joe George of Men’s Health called it “a proper hard-boiled mystery” driven by one of Nicolas Cage’s strongest performances.
Daniel Feinberg of The Hollywood Reporter admired portions of the production but felt the material might have worked better as a feature-length film.
Interesting Facts
Nicolas Cage voiced one of the Spider-Men from alternate universes in 2018’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Fans had hoped for years that he would eventually play the character in live action.
The Spider-Noir series can be viewed in either black & white or color. Like many critics, I recommend the black & white version because it fully captures the spirit of classic noir cinema. It wasn’t, as you might think, created in post-production as a marketing gimmick. Both versions were planned from the start.
My Ratings
Verticality (Understanding Human Nature): 8.5/10
The best noir stories reject simple heroes and villains. They recognize that courage and weakness, loyalty and betrayal, often live inside the same person. Spider-Noir understands this remarkably well.
Horizontality (The World It Creates): 9.0/10
The depiction of Depression-era New York feels consistent from beginning to end. The world has its own rules, and the series rarely violates them.
Visual Resonance: 9.5/10
Watching it in black & white… among the finest visual achievements I’ve seen in television in years.
Acting: 9.0/10
Nicolas Cage delivers exactly the performance this material requires. Lamorne Morris plays his role exactly as you’d want. Brendan Gleeson takes his role to another level. (I’d be surprised if he isn’t nominated for an Emmy.) And the supporting cast never strikes a false note.
Directing: 9.0/10
Confident, restrained, and refreshingly willing to let scenes breathe.
Editing: 8.8/10
Purposefully measured. Some viewers may prefer a faster pace, but I thought the rhythm suited the material.
Overall Average Score: 8.97/10
Bottom Line: Strongly Recommended
What stayed with me wasn’t the action. It wasn’t even the photography, remarkable as it was. It was the portrayal of human nature.
The best noir stories remind us that people are rarely all good or all bad. They stumble. They regret. They betray others and themselves. Yet they keep searching for redemption.
And the best (not most, but the best) superhero stories aren’t really about superhuman people with extraordinary powers. They’re about ordinary, flawed people (like the protagonist of Spider-Noir) struggling to do the right thing.
