Within a week, George (Michael Fassbender) will have to find the source of the security leak in his intelligence organization or tens of thousands of people will die. The short list of suspects includes his equally talented wife, Kathryn (Cate Blanchett), a hotheaded subordinate he passed over for promotion named Freddie Smalls (Tom Burke), his younger date who also works in surveillance, Clarissa Dubose (Marisa Abela), the hotshot go-getter who did nab the promotion, Colonel James Stokes (Regé-Jean Page), and his current date, one of the organization’s therapists, Dr. Zoe Vaughan (Naomie Harris). For a kind of truth-telling session, George invites them over for dinner, but only the relationships between the other couples' flaws are revealed. The game is afoot, and he has just a few more days left before the shadowy operation known as Severus wreaks real-world havoc.
The most recent film from Steven Soderbergh, "Black Bag," is an espionage thriller that feels like an update to Cold War tales like "Bridge of Spies" and "The Hunt For Red October" by incorporating the contemporary complexities of drone strikes, satellite surveillance, and AI-powered eavesdropping. Writer David Koepp mixes these time-tested tales of suspense with an entourage of chaotic personalities, perfection-driven agents, and a conspiracy that threatens to ruin their careers if George isn’t careful. Koepp, who collaborated with Soderbergh on "Kimi" and "Presence" and wrote "Mission Impossible"'s spy scripts, is well-equipped to keep viewers riveted without having a character fire a single shot (at least not initially). Even though the characters are merely seated around a dining table, the film intensifies the sense of danger thanks to Soderbergh's soft-focus cinematography, wide-angle lenses, and fast-paced editing, as well as the narrative tension that exists between each character. It’s like waiting for the bomb to go off without a timer to warn you to brace for impact.
A man of many talents, Soderbergh has proved time and again he can immerse himself in a genre and turn in a celebrated entry, as he did in horror with “Contagion,” the quippy crime movie with “Ocean’s Eleven” and “The Limey,” and even a few Oscar-winning dramas including “Traffic” and “Erin Brockovich.” He’s directed six movies and two TV mini-series in the past five years alone. However, not all of these projects landed gracefully, as with the tepidly received “Magic Mike’s Last Dance” or the effective but quickly gone-from-theaters ghost movie “Presence.” However, "Black Bag" feels like yet another energetic showcase for a man who never seems to slow down, despite the fact that he has directed more than fifty films over the course of four decades. It is, after all, his second release three months into 2025.
Spiritually, "Black Bag" has some similarities to the simmering tension of Soderbergh's excellent romantic crime drama "Out of Sight," in which a U.S. federal marshal (Jennifer Lopez) is seduced by a reckless criminal with a heart of gold (George Clooney). But in “Black Bag,” the sexual chemistry between Fassbender and Blanchett feels like a tango, smooth and sharp gliding across the floor with nothing to break the concentration on each other’s eyes. Yet, the speed of the dialogue feels closer to that of a screwball comedy. Every conversation is a test of wills and smarts, a tennis match between players who think they’re each at the top of their game. But as we’ve seen many times, only one player goes home the winner.
The stellar performances of the actors and Carmen Cuba's excellent casting contribute significantly to the film's magic. As in “The Killer,” Fassbender plays calm and cool, almost to a fault, with a square-jaw resolution and shark-like focus. Like a GQ Magazine-dressed, Sherlock-encoded James Bond with fewer gadgets and fisticuffs but who enjoys the battle of wits and the challenges of maintaining a married life in a profession built on secrecy, his approach in "Black Bag" is subtle yet unsettling, as he studies every character's every move from behind his thick glasses. Blanchett’s Kathryn is a different degree of calm and cool, with a much more glamorous flair and fondness for cutting remarks. She suffers no fools and says as much to their face with a sly grin as opposed to George’s quieter approach to letting the traitor fall into his trap. The couple’s bond, while questioned by others, is never questioned by the other, although Blanchett’s Kathryn is an adept poker-faced player who seems the most capable at besting George at his own game.
While the rest of the characters act like bumpers in a pinball game, kicking the ball further and further up on the board, the crew is headed by none other than a former James Bond: Pierce Brosnan as Arthur Steiglitz, a man heading the intelligence organization with a touch of insecurity over the news the leak is coming from inside his own ranks.
George is a tireless operative who takes on impossible challenges in a short amount of time and relies on the trust of close collaborators, which is a reflection of Soderbergh. A smart, sexy spy vs. spy thriller fought mostly over dialogue, "Black Bag" feels like a return to form for the triple threat filmmaker who directed, shot, and edited the film together. The end product is absolutely mouthwatering—a slender piece of entertainment that has the feel of an old story but very much represents our own current anxieties, including concerns about maintaining trust in relationships and careers with high stakes. Soderbergh and Koepp’s third collaboration is unlike their previous works, and the pair give “Black Bag” an air of intrigue and just the right amount of volatility to keep viewers guessing and rethinking their conclusions up to the end’s thrilling denouement.