There's a lot of different factors that can be attributed to its impressive 91% score on Rotten Tomatoes. But one of them is surely the novelty of the concept; few - if any - live-action superhero stories are comparable to Spider-Noir in terms of its subject material. But while viewers may be hard-pressed to find more TV shows similar to the series, the genre responsible for its existence is jam-packed with entertaining options to explore.
A great deal of what makes Spider-Noir work so well is present in a host of other movies, regardless of the fact that there's not a super-powered hero or villain in sight. The witty dialogue, the atmosphere, the dark themes, and character archetypes (from a mysterious nightclub singer to a cynical private detective) that drive Spider-Noir are quite prevalent in a long list of great film noir movies. Many are worth checking out after finishing the first season of the Prime Video series.
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The Big Heat
More action-heavy than most film noir movies, The Big Heat would make for a great follow-up viewing for those who just watched Spider-Noir. In the 1955 film noir, Glenn Ford plays a fairly ordinary detective with a wife and child. His life takes a turn for the worse when his wife is murdered in retaliation for his continued investigation into a suspicious suicide case. The event hardens The Big Heat, turning it from what felt like a detective film to a full-blown revenge flick.
Glenn Ford delivers a powerful performance as a man overcome with hatred. Similar to Spider-Noir, Ford's Dave Bannion hardly sees himself as a hero, nor does he act like one, and yet, it's not hard to root for him as he relentlessly seeks his revenge. Because for all his bluster, there's clearly still good within him.
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The Maltese Falcon
Out of all the film noir movies that likely had a hand in Spider-Noir's creative process, none stand out more than The Maltese Falcon. That's not surprising, considering that the 1941 film is regarded by many film historians as the holy grail of film noir. Directed by John Huston, The Maltese Falcon follows private eye Sam Spade (Humphrey Bogart) as he investigates the murder of his partner and gets caught up in the hunt for a priceless artifact.
According to Nicolas Cage, his portrayal of Ben Reilly was "70 percent" inspired by Humphrey Bogart. That's made blatantly evident in Bogart's film noir movies, particularly The Maltese Falcon. Bogart's trademark snark and confidence that he brings to the role of Sam Spade delivered no shortage of classic lines and speeches, with one of his best being his monologue detailing his thoughts about the murder that sets the story in motion:
When a man's partner is killed, he's supposed to do something about it. It doesn't make any difference what you thought of him. He was your partner, and you're supposed to do something about it. And it happens we're in the detective business. Well, when one of your organization gets killed, it's bad business to let the killer get away with it, bad all around, bad for every detective everywhere.
Watching Ben Reilly interact with other people in Spider-Noir is strongly reminiscent of how Humphrey Bogart's Sam Spade conducts himself in The Maltese Falcon.
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Key Largo
The Maltese Falcon is but one of the great film noir classics starring Humphrey Bogart as the main character. The actor's dry sense of humor and penchant for playing dark characters made him a natural fit for the genre. Another great film noir outing for Bogart came when he starred opposite Lauren Bacall in Key Largo, a movie about a group of people taken hostage by a gangster and his minions during a storm.
Aside from Bogart, Key Largo features two other actors in its cast that impacted Spider-Noir. Lauren Bacall's sultry persona makes her one of the top femme fatale actresses in film noir, hence why she was cited as an influence on the Cat Hardy character. And Edward G. Robinson, a prominent gangster actor, was in top form as Key Largo's villain. Nicolas Cage does an impressive Robinson impression when he questions police officers at the hospital. In Key Largo, you'll see not one - but three - icons of film noir at work.
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Laura
Laura stars Dana Andrews as Marc McPherson, a no-nonsense police detective assigned to investigate the murder of a beautiful and popular socialite named Laura Hunt, played by Gene Tierney. Over the course of the movie, McPherson meets various people in Laura's life, all of which are people who turn out to have some sort of motive for killing her.
From the onset, it may seem like a standard murder mystery, but it quickly becomes much more complicated, as it's discovered that though someone did indeed die, Laura herself is still alive. Therefore, Marc McPherson has to find out who the killer is before they correct their mistake and kill the real Laura.
Laura features horror icon Vincent Price in one of his earliest roles. Price plays Shelby Carpenter, Laura's boyfriend and one of the murder suspects.
Laura is easily one of the greatest film noir movies of all time, and it's not just because of the great plot twists and its engaging murder mystery. It's surprisingly rewatchable, as the cynical personalities of the characters make for some great lines.
When asked if he had ever been in love, McPherson summed up his thoughts on the subject with the quote, "A doll in Washington Heights once got a fox fur out of me." And Clive Lyledecker, made no secret of his basic disregard for other people when he so dryly remarks, "I would be sincerely sorry to so my neighbors' children devoured by wolves." That same sense of cynicism accounts for a substantial part of Spider-Noir's charm.
Release Date
May 27, 2026
Network
MGM+
Showrunner
Oren Uziel, Steve Lightfoot
Directors
Harry Bradbeer
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Lamorne Morris
Robbie Robertson
English (US) ·