Title – Black Bag (2025)

Director – Steven Soderbergh (Traffic)

Cast – Michael Fassbender, Cate Blanchett, Gustaf Skarsgård, Tom Burke, Regé-Jean Page

Plot – British intelligence agents and happily married couple George (Fassbender) and Kathryn (Blanchett) are put to the ultimate test both professionally and personally when Kathryn becomes a suspect in a dangerous intelligence leak that George is tasked with investigating.  

“It takes a spy to hunt a spy”

Review by Eddie on 19/03/2025

Proving himself to be one of the busiest “retired” filmmakers around, Steven Soderbergh follows up his recent critically lauded/box office bomb Presence with sleek, sexy and throwaway spy thriller Black Bag, a film that shares common vibes with the directors most commercial works such as the Ocean’s franchise and adored 90’s thriller Out of Sight.

Teaming up with well-regarded screenwriter David Koepp, Soderbergh has here crafted one of recent memories most baggage free and tightly edited Hollywood feature films to ensure that this brisk 90 minute experience is one that never outstays its welcome while also one that never grows to anything more than a highly entertaining distraction that just so happens to look amazing with a cast of amazing looking people.

Enlisting the star power of Michael Fassbender (in a role that feels oddly similar to his turn in Netflix’s The Killer) and Cate Blanchett in the roles of married British spies George Woodhouse and Kathryn St. Jean who get unwittingly pitted against one another when George becomes aware that Kathryn is a prime candidate for an active agency mole, Soderbergh ensures that his movie detour is a pleasant experience made all the more consumable by his leads and their supports.

Featuring a whose who of James Bond bit players with Naomi Harris and Pierce Brosnan playing key supporting turns and Tom Burke, Marisa Abela and Regé-Jean Page also joining in for the star heavy ensemble, Black Bag rarely wastes a second of screen time as it gets stuck straight into the action with no backstory or unnecessary side plots to be found.

Built around a fantastic opening segment that includes all main players enjoying a nice dinner at the house of George and Kathryn and a wonderfully edited interrogation scene spliced together in the films latter stages, Black Bag may not feature any stereotypical Hollywood spy thriller foot chases or shootouts but it manages to be just as exciting, building off a John le Carré like foundation that is anything but new or revolutionary but is absolutely engaging and the exact type of Hollywood film that is rare to find in todays climate of feature filmmaking.

There might not be an overall point to anything here with little to hold onto and little in the way of meaningful or deep content but as a fine example of excess free movie entertainment and old school but energetic movie making, Black Bag is a refreshing option that offers a very enjoyable sugar rush.

Final Say –

With a talented cast all having a blast and a fun game of cat and mouse explored in a tight and professional manner, Black Bag becomes one of Steven Soderbergh’s most enjoyable modern films and makes one glad he didn’t stay retired for too long.

3 1/2 movie ticket stubs out of 5