Smallville (TV Series) Noir (2007) User Reviews

Homage to Film-Noir

[claudio_carvalho · 8/10 · 25 May 2008]

While watching "The Big Sleep" in a room in Daily Planet, Chloe and Jimmy hear a shot and they find Lana severely wounded in the elevator and a man running upstairs. Jimmy takes a picture of the man with his cellular, and after downloading the image to the computer, he is hit in his head and faints. He dreams with a weird situation in 1940, with his acquaintances living characters of a film-noir with Lana Lang performing a Machiavellian femme fatale. Meanwhile Lois steals a silver cigarette case with a Gardenia from the crime scene with evidences of a mysterious encounter of Lex with an American senator. Lana discloses to Chloe that she married Lex to protect Clark.

I am a fan of film-noir; therefore I liked this episode, actually a great homage to this genre. The story in 1940 is stylish and better than the plot of the episode. The ambiguous Lionel Luthor shows again the reason why Lex is so evil. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Mulher Misteriosa" ("Mysterious Woman")

Noir

[Colcatron · 7/10 · 13 April 2011]

I don't mind when a show goes off formula and does a theme episode like this, but I believe for one it has to be relevant, and second it needs to have a really good plot to make it work. "Noir" is a fun idea, and the black and white film noir dream sequence was entertaining enough. The real problem here is that the placing of it chronologically in the season was all wrong, and the plot in the real world that the dream is based on hardly seems relevant. For the placing of the episode, I think this would have been less frustrating earlier in the season. Season 6 started off really weak, and was just picking up a lot of steam in the 2nd half of the season. With "Noir" airing as the 3rd last episode, right in the middle of all the mystery and tension leading to the finale, it kind of kills the excitement leading to the finale. I have no problem with a stand alone episode like this, made just for fun, but not this close to the end of the season. Now as for the plot, it really seems like the entire black and white dream sequence was written first, and the opening and closing scenes feel very irrelevant. It's almost like they created the film noir plot to stand all on it's own, and then at the last minute said "We need to come up with some real world plot to tie into this. Who cares how lame or forced it is, just stick it on the beginning and end" Still this has some fun moments, and is an amusing concept. I just wish more time had been spent working a half decent plot out.

I Agree!

[BarryB4 · 6/10 · 12 October 2008]

I never liked episodes of "Magnum P.I." that did stuff like this (a black and white episode where the main characters appear in an old-movie type story).

"Noir" did not do much to advance the plot line of that season. Though the affection for old movies is obvious.

It is one of the least interesting episodes in the series.

Oh, yeah, I never liked it when "JAG" did this either. One day they had a "JAG" marathon of all "fantasy" episodes, nothing with the characters in their normal setting. The one where everyone was back in the 1960's was okay, though.

"Smallville" is my favorite show, and "Noir" is pretty weak.

While investigating a murder, Jimmy finds himself in an unfamiliar world!

[tokanac · 9/10 · 31 March 2008]

This episode reminds me a lot of some episodes of Charmed. One: In "Sense and Sense Ability" Paige sings "Fever" up on stage at P3 to her boyfriend in a smoky environment and in a loose-fitting red, satin dress with the sides of her hair clipped back and it all hanging over one shoulder with loose curls in her hair. And in "Charmed Noir" Paige and Brody are sucked into a book to solve a mystery. When the book's scenes are filmed they appear in black and white and it's set in the 40s/60s.

In this episode Chloe and Jimmy find the contents of Lana's bag scattered on the floor in front of the elevator. Lipstick, mascara, an ivory clasp and her keys among others. Jimmy wakes up and finds out that the world's amiss: he and Clark are budding reporters (Jimmy's more confused than anything else!) at the Daily Planet; Chloe's the boss; Lionel Luthor owns The Talon Club; Lex Luthor is a tycoon and Lana Luthor is a femme fatal-e. Lana comes to Jimmy to ask him to investigate or reveal why her husband is going out late at night. Before she disappears back to the Luthor Mansion she gives him a clasp containing cash and matches. This leads him to The Talon Club where he finds Clark, Lionel and, surprise surprise, Lex. A woman dressed in a white dress comes slinking down the stairs starting to sing a song. Lois Lane. Lionel tells him that Lex likes to make a big exit. He's not one to go quietly and meets his taxi. There's just one thing, though. He only goes to meet the taxi, not to get into it! He hides until his bodyguards and look-alike drive off and then quickly hops into another car to drive somewhere else. Jimmy follows Lex to the Kent Farm and sees that the only reason Lex makes a grand exit is so someone in particular will notice. He goes to the Kent Farm to meet none other than Lois Lane, the sultry torch singer. He takes a photo and shows it to Mrs. Luthor and reveals that he's the one who wants her dead. Lana gives Jimmy a gun, who goes to confront Lex. When Lex reaches into his jacket to get something Jimmy assumes it's a gun and quickly kills the man. Before Lex dies he finishes pulling out the object: another clasp! Jimmy wakes up and Lana's in hospital. Jimmy reveals Lex may have reason to kill her but Clark has other ideas. It's not the best episode I've every seen, but it's very entertaining, even though it's a bit predictable and corny. It cuts too close to real life in Smallville and the original story line. The only thing that's different is that Lois is a sultry lounge/jazz singer, Lionel runs his own bar (which he owns in real Smallville life) and Lex has an affair, trying to kill Lana. But who knows if he's trying to do that in real Smallville life, anyway. It's all in the air.

So, I give this episode a 9/10 because of it's entertainment and how fine cut it is. Jimmy can't put all the pieces together and see that Clark really does lead a double life. It's also a bit of fun. It'd be better if it didn't cut finely to real life in Smallville. It'd be nice if Clark was made out to be the villain and Lex and Lionel were good guys trying to save the world. Then again, Red Kryptonyte really does that (turn Clark into a bad-boy, see season 3's "Exile"), doesn't it?

great episode, very original, so stop hating!!!

[sef_payne · 9/10 · 5 May 2007]

Why have I just seen a 5.9 out of 10 rating on IMDb? i mean seriously, whats going on. Did you ever expect smallville to be set in a noir film? no you didn't! everything flowed so nicely in this episode, jeannot sharc has yet surprised me again.

Not only is this the most original smallville episode since relic (seaoson 3) but its by far one of the best. My brother was raving on about how bad this episode looked in the trailer, and that it had no hope of success what so ever. Well he still thinks that even after the episode. but come on, the only reason a lot of users hated it, was simply because they hated the idea of a Casablanca style smallville episode. Its a change of pace guys, its not something you would normally see in smallville. this is what its all about!!!

what exactly people want from an episode from what i see is; 1. Clark wearing the same clothes every day 2. his relationship with Lana and the triangle between them and lex 3. Clark using his powers 4. Clark stopping a bad guy

NO NO NO NOO!!! TOO Repetitive!!

Enough said, this is different, and different is good. SO STOP HATING!!!

9 out of 10

Its not the idea that makes an episode popular, its the execution.

[darth_star_69 · 2/10 · 6 May 2007]

Sometimes television shows like to branch out, become adventurous and do something outside the realm of what could be considered television normality. For example, live shows, real-time episodes, prequels, flashback shows, the infamous clips show and so forth. It would seem that one of the writers at Smallville thought that it would be a great idea to do an homage to the noir films of the 40s and 50s, The Big Sleep being heavily referenced at the start of this episode. However what this writer failed to comprehend is that for a concept show to work you need one important thing, namely a plot, to make the episode memorable. Its not the idea that makes an episode popular, its the execution.

The action begins when Chloe and Jimmy Olsen decide to have a romantic evening in at the Daily Planet offices, when suddenly a gunshot goes off and they find Lana Lang in the lift unconscious, clearly the victim of a shooting. I'm sorry to say that the wound did not prove fatal. Whilst investigating the photos of the crime scene Jimmy Olsen is knocked unconscious. Suddenly we enter Jimmy Olsen's dream like state and everything has gone 1940s on us. All the Smallville regulars are their of course, Lois being paraded around as mild titillation, Lionel being his usual ambivalent self and Clark Kent as a timid reporter who happens to be an undercover cop. Oh the irony nearly killed me there. Anyhow what follows is what could be considered the staple of a noir story; the dame in distress, a car chase, a murder, the inevitable double cross, all lovingly prepared with a smattering of 40s dialogue. 25 minutes later and Jimmy is awake once more.

So what does Jimmy's dream contribute to the story? Well quite simply he realises that the cigarette case at the crime scene might prove a vital clue, seeing as Lana does not smoke. Now this may well have been somewhat shocking to the viewer if it were not for one problem; the writers had already drawn attention to said cigarette case earlier in the episode by having Lois steal it from the crime scene. Already the viewer is expecting something to come of the cigarette case clue before the noir action starts, so ultimately Jimmy's coma-induced fantasy reveals nothing we were not expecting. The homage, whilst being a nice idea, serves nothing to the story and feels like it was placed in there simply because one of the writers has a soft spot for the work of Howard Hawks. Of course I would also suggest that with 4 episodes left the writers realised they had very little material with which to use at the end of the season, so they needed something to pad the story out.

So with 3 episodes now left it seems that the inevitable end of season cliffhanger is going to be squeezed into the last three episodes. One brief mention of Project Ares, Lex's latest evil scheme, ensured the show contributed something to the end of season story arc, yet apart from that it was an episode that had no place in the last few episodes of this season.

i hope you are patient with diversions

[joh03096 · 4/10 · 22 December 2012]

I had high hopes for this episode for about five seconds. Then Jimmy Olson showed up and started mouthing the words to some film-noir movie like a lonely nerd and then Lana was found lying on the floor of an elevator with a bullet hole in her chest. Lana being shot is, at face value, wonderful. Maybe she will die! Unfortunately, we all know she will live.

But what really takes this episode to the limit is the transition into film-noir parody. Or "homage?" Jimmy gets hit in the head and suddenly the episode is a film-noir dream that's running inside Jimmy's unconscious head.

There are a lot of things this show needs. An entire episode that plays out inside Jimmy's head is not one of them. A heavy focus on Jimmy is bad enough, but a heavy focus on Jimmy in a completely irrelevant side story that takes an entire episode? That's an insult. The only redeeming aspect of Jimmy's dream is Clark Kent's secret identity as a suave man about town. Also the car chase. The car chase was fun. Jimmy's subconscious was very committed to accurate cinematography of the film-noir era.

Not Lovin' this one

[Rcwilkinson123 · 5/10 · 12 October 2007]

This episode takes a new turn compared to the normal "Smallville"-type of episode with a film noir-style presentation.

In the Daily Planet, Lana gets shot. Jimmy Olsen works to investigate. However, before he can use a clue to come upon a critical discovery, he is knocked out by a mysterious, silhouetted figure. This puts him in a 1940s-era dream where he is the star, Clark is a bumbling reporter, Lana is a femme fatale, Lois is a sultry singer, Chloe is a toots reporter, Lionel is the wise bartender, and Lex- well, Lex is still the bad guy. The dream continues for about 30 minutes with the mystery that a film noir movie delivered during that time.

This episode was not so exciting. It was kind of funny to see the directors put together a film noir movie with the recognizable actors usually seen in an action/science-fiction show. But it did not do much for the season overall, and is one of the least interesting episodes of the series.