Spider-Noir: Review

The highly anticipated Spider-Noir finally arrives on screens, with Prime Video offering different ways to view it.

Set in an alternate 1930s New York, this reality's Spider-Man is The Spider, a trench-coated, fedora-wearing webslinger whose fight against the corruption of the Depression era is brought to an end after the death of his love, Ruby.

Having assumed a new life as cynical gumshoe Ben Reilly (Nicolas Cage), the former crime-fighter now runs away from trouble, his desire to help quashed by a sense of nihilism and his own inherent cowardice. But when he's approached by lounge singer Cat Hardy (Li Jun Li) to investigate the disappearance of her bodyguard, he finds himself unwittingly drawn into a world he once fought bravely for.

Based on the Marvel comics, there's a certain pedigree at play here and the laconic stylings of a weary Cage as the retired superhero fit perfectly into the aesthetic which creator Oren Uziel has gone for.

Early episodes of the run feel a little familiar, especially given how recently Daredevil has been pitted against a corrupt mayor and an underground movement, but by sticking with the show, that familiarity begins to wear off and a sense of style and an own pathway starts to come through.

The show's design aesthetic is something sensational too. While the black and white version of the episodes feel like a 1930s caper, it's the True Hue colour versions which literally pop on the screen, with heightened colours and fashions standing out among the action. It's a great way to rewatch the episodes, but in truth, alternating between colour and black and white ones gives various pleasures.

Spider-Noir launches on Prime Video on May 27.