Bill Crider would have loved Spider-Noir since he was the biggest Nicolas Cage fan I’d ever met. AMAZON PRIME Video dropped all eight episodes of Season One so you can binge to your heart’s delight. And, you can choose to watch the episodes in Black & White or Color!
Nicolas Cage plays struggling private eye Ben Reilly in 1930s New York City. He has Spider-Man super powers, but is reluctant to use them. A gangster named Silvermane (Brendan Gleeson) has his mansion burned down by another guy with super powers, in this case fire, and Silvermane wants him dead.
I’ve only watched two of the eight episodes, but I like Lamorne Morris as Joe “Robbie” Robertson, Reilly’s friend who is a free-lance reporter and Karen Rodriguez as Janet Ruiz, Reilly’s feisty secretary. And, in classic fashion, there’s Li Jun Li as Felicia “Cat” Hardy–a real femme fatale nightclub singer.
I can’t wait to watch more episodes this weekend! GRADE: Incomplete but trending towards an A.
SEASON ONE EPISODES:
Episode 1: “Step Into My Office” (~44-45 mins)
Episode 2: “Tread Lightly” (~40-45 mins)
Episode 3: “Double Cross” (~45 mins)
Episode 4: “A Mistake I’ll Never Make Again” (~45-47 mins)
Episode 5: “Betrayal” (~47-50 mins)
Episode 6: “Nightmare on a Gurney” (~40-50 mins)
Episode 7: “Nobody’s Hero” (~40-45 mins)
Episode 8: “The Man in the Mask” (~46-50 mins)
OCD me watched all eight episodes in a single day; because of my eyesight I chose the colorized version. I’d give it an almost-A, perhaps a B++++ Cage is most effective here when he is channeling Humphrey Bogart, and it’s only when Cage shows his goofy side that the show goes slightly off the rails. Like you, I was impressed with both Lamorne Morris and Karen Rodrigues; Brendon Gleeson, Jack Huston (Sandman), and Abraham Popoola (Lonnie Lincoln) also help greatly with the heavy lifting, and I enjoyed Cary Christopher as the street-wise kid, Frankie. I’m ashamed that I did not recognize Lukas Hass as the thug Winston. The real star of the show, IMHO, was 1930s New York, which set the entire noirish mood.
Evidently a second season, if there were one, would take the Cage character several years into the future.
Enjoy the next six episodes, George!
Jerry, I’m glad you enjoyed SPIDER-NOIR as much as did! I’ll watch a few more episodes this weekend and wrap it up early next week. As you point out, the cast is talented. Nick Cage–in his Bogart moments–is at the top of his game. But, as always, Cage does get weird from time to time and going off the rails beckons…
We’ll have to give it a try, if only in Bill’s honor. Cage is very much hit and miss with me.
Did you watch the color or black & white version? I’m sure Jackie will opt for the color.
Jeff, I’m like Jackie: I opted for the color version. But I have a number of friends who are watching SPIDER-NOIR in B&W. Bill Crider would have loved Cage in this series. He can be Bogart…and silly!
Spider-Man isn’t a thirties character! Pfui!
Bob, somewhere in the Multiverse, Spider-Man exists in the 1930s!
Noy in my universe!