Black Bag is a brilliant spy thriller that unleashes a cat and mouse whodunit game full of passion, betrayal and duplicity that is fuelled by the spectacular performances of the entire cast led by Michael Fassbender and Cate Blanchett, allowing David Koepp and Steven Soderbergh’s vision to become one of the best films of the year so far!

 

Both Steven Soderbergh and David Koepp have been entertaining audiences for decades with unforgettable films, Koepp having written the screenplays for beloved films like Jurassic Park, Spider-Man and Mission: Impossible and Soderbergh directing acclaimed films such as Erin Brockovich and the Ocean’s Eleven remake starring George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Matt Damon. Previously, the two of them have collaborated on 2022’s Kimi and this year’s Presence, a truly unique ghost story, but their third collaboration together is without question their finest yet. Calling back to classic spy thrillers and ensnaring audiences in a deadly and highly sophisticated game of cat and mouse fuelled by passion, treachery and opportunity, Black Bag is one unbelievably thrilling whodunit that unleashes a carefully worded script that will have audiences hanging on every single line of dialogue. It’s only a bonus that its ensemble cast features the extraordinary talents of Michael Fassbender, Cate Blanchett, Naomie Harris, Tom Burke, Regé-Jean Page, Pierce Brosnan and Marisa Abela, ensuring that every frame of the film is an intoxicating, heart pounding thriller that is without hesitation one of the year’s best films.

 

Spy thrillers have been around since the dawn of cinema, proving to be a classic genre that never fails to thrill audiences. While the most popular titles of the genre often feature grand action set pieces like the James Bond and Mission: Impossible franchises do, Black Bag takes a more traditional narrative through line. Following in the footsteps of the classic spy thriller stories of John le Carré, Koepp’s screenplay is entirely dialogue driven with no action sequences. Instead, the drama and tension is built through the characters’ duplicitous actions and purposefully misleading dialogue as Fassbender’s George Woodhouse is tasked with finding out which of his colleagues is responsible for stealing a classified weapon, one of which happens to be his own wife. With each character being a skilled liar or able to hold extreme confidences as part of their employment, and it's clear that each character is not being entirely truthful to hide a truth they don’t want coming to light, if not flat out lying, the audience never knows who to trust. This paranoia is only amplified by the fact that the six main characters are all in relationships with each other, bringing their personal dramas to the table as an extra layer of complication, especially between Fassbender’s George and Blanchett’s Kathryn which gives a very Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf breakdown of their marriage as George tries to determine if his wife is lying to him and possibly complicit in treason. What ensues is an intoxicating tale of deception, treachery, passion, and betrayal that not only moves at a lightning pace, but one that will keep you guessing until the film’s final shocking reveal. And with Soderbergh in the director’s chair, not a second of the film’s ninety four minutes runtime is wasted, utilizing every second of screen time to deliver a slick, brilliantly paced and executed thriller that will have audiences on the edge of their seat.

 

Koepp and Soderbergh lay the runway for a great film, but it is the ever talented cast that make Black Bag a truly excellent endeavour! Blanchett and Fassbender are two of the greatest actors working in the business, and watching them on screen together is worth the price of admission alone. Fassbender transforms into the over analytical George, observing his co-workers and wife and carefully choosing his actions as he tries to figure out what each one of them is hiding. It’s a more timid performance from Fassbender than usual, especially as George begins to find himself ensnared in the plot he is trying to uncover, but as always Fassbender is outstanding. Blanchett is pitch perfect as Kathryn, a cunning agent more than capable of covering her tracks and operating within the terms of engagement while hiding secrets from everyone… including her husband. It’s a chilling performance at times, solidifying Blanchett as one of the greatest actresses of our time, that will leave audiences questioning to the bitter end what her character is being truthful about. When going head to head, Fassbender and Blanchett are a force to be reckoned with, perfectly deconstructing their characters’ loving relationship and begging the question: can you implicitly trust the person you love when you know they are hiding something from you?

 

The excellent performances continue into the rest of the cast. Burke is great as Freddie Smalls, a good agent derailed by his messy personal problems that continue to wreak havoc during George’s investigation, while Page is effortlessly smooth and disarming as Col. James Stokes, showcasing his ability to be a great intelligence officer and using every asset he has to achieve his goals. Harris is sublime as Dr. Zoe Vaughan, the staff psychiatrist, who is privy to many secrets within the office, knowing more than she lets on with the ability to potentially ruin one of her co-worker’s careers. With this great power, Harris plays the role with an intellect and cunningness as she holds all the cards, despite knowing that her character is out of her depth if she attempts to turn on one of these intelligence officers. Brosnan’s casting as the head of the agency is inspired, calling back to his James Bond roots, while giving him a character that is secret service to the core and not afraid to cross lines for the greater good. But the scene stealer of the cast is Abela as Clarissa Dubose, the newest member to the government agency who believes fully in what she does and in serving her country, even if she has some concerns about how her colleagues perform their duties. It’s a spitfire role full of standout moments where Abela not only matches the standard set by the incredibly talented cast, but keeps them on their toes with some of the best dialogue exchanges in the entire film, confirming that her breakout performance in last year’s Back to Black was no fluke but only the start of her talents.

Knowing yet again exactly how to thoroughly entertain and lead audiences on a thrilling hunt, David Koepp and Steven Soderbergh have struck gold with their latest spy thriller Black Bag. Not only is it an incredibly well acted film thanks to its stellar ensemble cast, it’s a slick, well crafted and meticulously plotted thriller that ensures each reveal not only takes viewers further down the treacherous rabbit hole full of deceitful characters each with their own agenda, but an experience that will have audiences fully invested in the film. With the outstanding performances of Michael Fassbender and Cate Blanchett and a scene stealing turn from Marisa Abela bolstering the entire film, Black Bag fires on all cylinders thanks to Steven Soderbergh’s precise direction and David Koepp’s finely tuned screenplay that not only delivers a nerve wracking and exhilarating spy thriller that throws back to the genre’s origins, but a truly masterful film that will go down as one of the best films of 2025!