Spider-Noir review: Weirdly charming Nicolas Cage is cherry on top in fun, vintage whodunnit disguised as superhero show

Spider-Noir review: Nicolas Cage is at his entertaining best in a superhero show that is essentially an old-fashioned thriller.

Spider-Noir

Creator: Oren Uziel

Spider-Noir review: Nicolas Cage is the not-so-friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man.

Cast: Nicolas Cage, Lamorne Morris, Li Jun Li, Karen Rodriguez, Abraham Popoola, Jack Huston, Brendan Gleeson

Rating: ★★★★

There are moments in Spider-Noir, Oren Uziel’s insane attempt at merging the superhero and noir thriller genre, that you forget you are watching a modern show based on a Marvel superhero. Everything about Spider-Noir has the feel of a vintage 1930s noir thriller. What clinches it for the show is that none of it feels artificial or forced. Everything from the cinematography, score, dialogue, and production design comes together to transport you back nine decades on a fun ride. What is even more praiseworthy is how the show manages to blend two diverse genres so cohesively that fans of either will be happy, and the rare cross-section that is fans of both will be overjoyed.

What is Spider-Noir, really?

Spider-Noir is based on the Spider-Man Noir character from Marvel Comics, whom we first saw on the big screen in the animated film Into the Spider-Verse a few years ago. Nicolas Cage, who voiced the character in the film, reprises him in live-action here as Ben Reilly, a middle-aged private detective in 1930s New York. He has retired from his crimefighting days as Spider (the Spider-Man equivalent in this world) after the death of his beloved. But after superpowered people begin emerging in New York and a local gangster attempts to seize power, Ben must reluctantly put on his mask again and use his powers, along with his wit, to solve this mystery and save the day.

A good old-fashioned mystery

Movie Review

Spider-Noir

4/5

2026-05-26T18:30:00+0000

Mystery thriller

Private detective Ben Reilly is retired from his crimefighting days as Spider, but is forced to put the mask back on once superpowered individuals begin to show up in New York.

Director

Oren Uziel 

Cast

Nicolas Cage, Lamorne Morris, Li Jun Li, Karen Rodriguez, Abraham Popoola, Jack Huston, Brendan Gleeson

Verdict

Spider-Noir transports you back in time and functions brilliantly as a sharp, noir murder mystery, and also manages to be a fun Marvel-esque superhero show, all shouldered by the brilliant Nicolas Cage.

An achievement of craft

At a time when superhero shows are replete with insane CGI and effects and large-scale action set-pieces, Spider-Noir sacrifices that for a more intimate setting, almost minimising VFX. Its true hero isn’t scale, but the craft of filmmaking itself. The delicate play with light and shadows in the cinematography is complemented by DOP Darran Tiernan’s sharp use of close-ups, low-angle shots, and clever utilisation of water and reflective surfaces. That alone sets the show apart, particularly when you watch it in monochrome. Kris Bowers and Michael Dean Parsons add to it by bringing a vintage score to underscore the show’s setting, without ever letting it feel dated. The score is from another time, but it feels vintage, not jaded. The actors have adapted to the style of performances we saw in the films of the 1930s and 40s, with crisper, more archaic English being complemented by the fast-talking dramatic style that was the signature of the era. How Spider-Noir binds them all while telling a superhero story is fabulous.

A mention also to the brief sequence that shows a de-aged Cage as a young Reilly in the Great War. There, the CGI and the de-ageing are spot on, convincing you that this could be a 30-year-old Nick Cage in front of you.

The delight that is Nicolas Cage

As one of the most mercurial actors of our time, Nicolas Cage has been underrated for years. Despite being an Oscar winner, he is hardly spoken of in the same breath as other ‘artists’ of the age. This is, in part, because of his penchant for outrageously corny films from time to time and an acting style that is far from classical. But in Spider-Noir, that works for the veteran. He brings to life Reilly in the most Nick Cage way possible, by making him unpredictable, enigmatic, almost weirdly charming, but never reducing him to a caricature. It’s the kind of leading man that inspires both awe and pity in a manner that only Cage knows how to.

He is well aided here by some fine performances from the rest of the cast, notably Karen Rodriguez as his secretary, Janet. The actor brings more than just comic relief to the performance, combining wit with sensitivity. Lamorne Morris as journalist Robbie Robertson is also a delight to watch. Another star of the show is the veteran Brendan Gleeson, who brings the much-needed gravitas and menace to the villain Silvermane, putting all his acting chops to fine use.

Sony has had a bad track record with its live-action Spider-Man spinoffs. Every Morbius, Kraken, and Madame Web they made confirmed to the audience that the studio had no clue what they were doing. A couple of the Venom movies were more like balm on the wounds left by the others. Spider-Noir shows how it was to be done, and it took the involvement of Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, the men behind the Spider-Verse series, to get it right. Of course, creator Oren Uziel deserves all the credit, too. As a fan of both mysteries and the superhero genre, I hope the show can serve as a blueprint for merging the two.