Steven Soderbergh continues his “post-retirement” streak with his second release of this year after Presence: the spy thriller Black Bag. The director assembles an immaculately dressed all-star cast with razor sharp dialogue via David Koepp, a thumping soundtrack, and a Mission Impossible meets 007 meets le Carré style mystery that will entertain and keep you guessing.
George Woodhouse (Michael Fassbender) and his wife Kathryn (Cate Blanchett) live and work together at a British Intelligence agency. In the opening act we are introduced to George’s mission, a list of potential moles in the agency one of which must be weeded out. To his surprise Kathryn is on the hook. Each potential mole is invited to George and Kathryn’s home where dinner is served by an accompanying game that peels back the layers of each character and how they relate to each other. George’s associate Freddie Smalls (Tom Burke) and his girlfriend Clarissa Dubose (Marisa Abela) sit on one side of the table, James Stokes (Regé-Jean Page) and Dr Zoe Vaughn (Naomie Harris) sit on the other. As each course is served, secrets about their past and current alliances are revealed.
George finds himself under investigation while looking into Kathryn’s “black bag” mission setting off a chain of events he didn’t expect. The familiar Bond-style narrative becomes inverted for something more character driven. Bond film alumni Pierce Brosnan and Naomie Harris are a wink in the direction Soderbergh, and screenwriter David Koepp subvert.
There is not much here in the way of action, so if you’re expecting a gun toting, globetrotting adventure, you won’t find it. Instead, you get a contained and well-crafted story that builds a comparable amount of suspense and adrenaline provided by a more high-octane film. There is the Mission Impossible trope provided by a cyberweapon called Severus that could destroy the world if it falls into the wrong hands. It’s an overused Maguffin that seems almost comical when delivered by Brosnan’s agency chief.
At the heart of it all is the phrase “black bag”. When it is used by the spies at the centre of the film it means that they are necessarily cloaking their activities from people who must trust that the “black bag” is for the greater good. The movie thrives on contradictions: it’s a seductive thriller with surprisingly coy scenes, a puzzle box where the puzzle itself is secondary, and a high stakes ticking clock without where the ‘bomb’ is human nature.
At its core, Black Bag explores whether truth can survive in a world where deception is a matter of life and death. Pierce Brosnan’s casting as a bureau chief might evoke memories of his Bond days, but don’t be fooled—this is a different kind of espionage.
Black Bag is Soderbergh at his best, showcasing the full range of his talents in this daring, fast-paced chapter of his post-retirement career. Soderbergh’s sharp editing and a brisk 93-minute runtime make his movie consistently engaging. As long as Soderberg remains as relentless and obsessive as the film’s central spymasters, driven by his unwavering love for filmmaking and determined to defend its integrity, the industry’s looming uncertainties can wait. Black Bag film serves as testament to why we’re all eagerly on board for whatever Soderbergh and Koepp do next.
