To avoid putting 10’s of thousands of lives at stake, George (Michael Fassbender) must uncover the source of the leakage in his intelligence operation before a week passes. Known suspects include his equally skilled wife, Katheryn (Cate Blanchett), his hotheaded subordinate Freddie Smalls (Tom Burke) who he passed over for a promotion, his younger date, Clarissa Dubose (Marisa Abela), the hotshot go-getter who did nab the promotion Colonel James Stokes (Regé-Jean Page), and his current date, Dr. Zoe Vaughan (Naomie Harris) who happens to be one of the organization’s therapists. These people are invited over by George for dinner with hopes of uncovering some unpleasant truths, but besides those truths, only gaps within the other couples’ relationships are exposed. Severus is the name of the shady operation set to unleash chaos on the world and George has too few days left to stop it.
“Black Bag” is Steven Soderbergh’s newest film, and it is an espionage thriller that, in modern times, interlaces issues such as the use of satellite surveillance, AI eavesdropping, drone strikes, together alongside the complexities of older time pieces like “The Hunt For Red October” and “Bridge of Spies.”
Two of the most famous tales of suspense are merged with chaotic characters, agents who obsess over achieving perfection, and a conspiracy in need of George’s great care, by writer David Koepp. Koepp is well-versed in making viewers stay glued to their seats without shooting any blanks (at least not initially) as he was previously involved with Soderbergh’s “Kimi” and “Presence,” along with possessing spy credits from “Mission: Impossible.” Instead of the actual violence, there is so much danger in the character’s passive expressions that it makes you restless. Soderbergh’s pace and wide-angle soft focus lens shifts within scenes amplify the already existing sense of peril, which surrounds the characters even when they are just seated around a dining table. You feel as if there’s a bomb waiting to explode, and no timer is set to inform you to be cautious.
As seen with this example, Soderbergh has repeatedly shown he is capable of performing within a single genre and creating a notable entry, whether that be in horror with “Contagion” or the quippy crime film with “Ocean’s Eleven,” or even a couple of dramas “Traffic” and “Erin Brockovich,” both of which won him multiple oscars. He has directed two television mini-series and six films within only five years.
Not every project hit the mark, as seen with “Magic Mike’s Last Dance,” which was rather lukewarm, or the effective but short-lived ghost movie “Presence.” After so many years, fifty to be exact, of having directed projects, “Black Bag” serves as another display of caper for an active person like him. Truly, this is “Black Bag” which makes it his second release in the opening quarter of 2025.
Black Bag has some elements of Soderbergh’s stirring romance crime drama, “Out of Sight,” where a federal marshal touches the heart of a rogue criminal. However, in this case, it is Michael Fassbender who plays the role of the mesmerizing marshal. When he comes to tango equally with Blanchett, it becomes a blend of pleasure and pain which is hard to contain. And despite this, every single glimpse affords every dancer the classic tango compilation where it points to the dancers’ turn to persevere with each other. Dialogue, in contrast, borders on screwball comedy. Each dialogue puts to the test wills and intellects like a tennis match where two players believe they are the best in the sport, as we’ve seen too often, only one player goes home victorious.
Stellar performances and exemplary casting by Carmen Cuba are what make the film magical.
Like in ‘The Killer’, Fassbender has this calm, cool, and collected presence with unyielding determination and a shark-like focus. In ‘Black Bag’, his portrayal is subtle, yet disturbing in that all the other people in the scene seem to be watching him watch them very nervously. He looks like a Bond, Sherlock, and GQ Magazine hybrid who has replaced diplomacy with thick-glassed, tuxedoed glasses, but fights with the cleverness and wit required to be married in a profession shrouded in secrets. Blanchett’s Kathryn is calm, yet over-the-top glamorous and sharp-tongued. She has no form of weakness and calls out fools with a sly grin instead of smirking as George, with much quieter methods, used to entrap a traitor into his snare. Their bonds, though questionable to other people, remain unquestioned. Even so, Blanchett’s Kathryn is a master at keeping her cards close to her chest and pretending that she can deceive with ease.
As other characters resemble bumpers in a pinball game, continuously propelling the ball in the upward direction, the crew is overseen by a former 007. In a manner indicative of Arthur Steiglitz, the head of an intelligence agency suffering from a bit of an inadequacy complex when angry leaks stem from within his organization, Pierce Brosnan takes on the role.
In the character of George, a George who is a strong and tireless operator who takes on the almost impossible tasks that must be done in a very short period, Soderbergh removes the burden of trust from close colleagues depending on him. “Black Bag” feels like a renaissance for the triple-threat filmmaker, who directed and shot as well as edited together a clever, sexy endurance spy thriller fought mostly through conversation. The result is delightful, a slim little amusement piece which nevertheless feels like a classic tale, but very much embodies the present with its worries about trusting relationships and high-stakes jobs. This is unlike the previous collaborations from Soderbergh and Koepp, which were arguably the pair’s most outré work, providing “Black Bag” a sense of mystery and danger that makes the audience continue guessing and questioning their answers until the final thrilling denouement opens everything up.
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