by Josh Sewell
Prolific director Steven Soderbergh’s latest project reunites him with screenwriter David Koepp for their second film in as many months. Presence, which opened in January, was a solid supernatural drama that aimed for the heartstrings while also providing a few goosebumps. Their new film, Black Bag, is about as far from that genre as you can get, evoking far different audience reactions while demonstrating their talent and versatility.
The riveting spy thriller revolves around legendary British intelligence agents George Woodhouse (Michael Fassbender) and his beloved wife Kathryn (Cate Blanchett). When someone discovers a traitor within the organization, the list of suspects includes the couple’s close colleagues (played by Regé-Jean Page, Tom Burke, Naomie Harris and Marisa Abela) – as well as Kathryn herself. Now George is faced with the ultimate test: loyalty to his marriage or his country.
In a mostly lackluster winter for cinema, the brisk, terrific Black Bag is my favorite film of 2025 so far. I hadn’t even seen a trailer beforehand, so I went into the theater totally blind. The result was a blast to experience with an equally in-the-dark audience. Almost all of us laughed at the biting, fast-paced dialogue, held our breath during suspenseful moments; and gasped in surprise at the frequent reveals.
What’s more, Koepp’s screenplay is immaculately constructed – everything is there for a reason. It doesn’t cheat with the setups, payoffs and revelations, and there are no extraneous scenes or characters. There’s not an ounce of fat on the 90-minute flick, which is downright miraculous in this era of gargantuan running times.
I knew I was in for a treat from the opening moment, when Black Bag jumps right into the action with a dazzling long take that follows George down a busy street, into a chaotic nightclub and back out again to have a clandestine meeting with a fellow agent (Gustaf Skarsgård). Where other filmmakers would use this difficult camera move to show off, Soderbergh (once again serving as his own director of photography and editor) makes it seem almost effortless – symbolizing how amazing Fassbender’s character is at his job.
From there, viewers get a look at the seeming domestic bliss George and Kathryn share compared to the chaotic relationships their coworkers are involved in. Is it genuine? Is it all for show, which George would consider a devastating betrayal? That’s the movie’s most vital mystery, so it’s a smart move for Soderbergh and Koepp to prioritize the narrative’s comparatively smaller emotional stakes over the usual “save the world” variety.
Sure, there’s a MacGuffin (the enigmatic doohickey practically every spy thriller requires) introduced to get the plot going, but it’s obvious from the start Black Bag isn’t really about that. The refreshing honesty makes the flick even better. Everyone knows we’re here to watch beautiful people be smart and duplicitous, so why pretend otherwise?
Fassbender and Blanchett are obviously the main attraction here (no pun intended, despite their scorching chemistry) and they’re outstanding, able to deliver pages of dialogue with a well-timed poker face or withering stare. But the duo is further strengthened by an incredible supporting cast that includes Page, Burke, Harris and a deeply smarmy Pierce Brosnan. (Which means Soderbergh managed to recruit a former Bond and Moneypenny for his British spy flick.)
However, the not-so-stealth MVP of Black Bag is Abela, who steals almost every scene she’s in as an alluring, delightfully candid operative. Do you know how good an actress has to be in order to upstage Fassbender and Blanchett, two of this generation’s best performers? I wasn’t familiar with her work before (including the recent Amy Winehouse biopic and the critically acclaimed HBO series Industry), but I’m sure making it a priority now.
Composer David Holmes (another frequent Soderbergh collaborator) crafts a terrific score for the flick, so reminiscent of his work on the Ocean’s trilogy that it has to be intentional. In fact, the score is only one of the many ways that Black Bag reminds me of those films. There’s the seemingly effortless cool I mentioned earlier, but there’s also impossibly high stakes; capable people doing their jobs well; amazing clothes; beautiful settings; and the eventual assurance that you’ve been in good hands the whole time.
If you’re one of the readers who often tell me they haven’t been to a movie theater in ages because “they don’t make ’em like they used to,” now is your chance to fix that. I can’t recommend Black Bag enough – it’s a bona fide movie for grownups. How refreshing.
Black Bag is rated R for language including sexual references, and some violence. Opens in theaters on March 14.
Grade: A
The riveting spy thriller revolves around legendary British intelligence agents George Woodhouse (Michael Fassbender) and his beloved wife Kathryn (Cate Blanchett). When someone discovers a traitor within the organization, the list of suspects includes the couple’s close colleagues (played by Regé-Jean Page, Tom Burke, Naomie Harris and Marisa Abela) – as well as Kathryn herself. Now George is faced with the ultimate test: loyalty to his marriage or his country.
In a mostly lackluster winter for cinema, the brisk, terrific Black Bag is my favorite film of 2025 so far. I hadn’t even seen a trailer beforehand, so I went into the theater totally blind. The result was a blast to experience with an equally in-the-dark audience. Almost all of us laughed at the biting, fast-paced dialogue, held our breath during suspenseful moments; and gasped in surprise at the frequent reveals.
What’s more, Koepp’s screenplay is immaculately constructed – everything is there for a reason. It doesn’t cheat with the setups, payoffs and revelations, and there are no extraneous scenes or characters. There’s not an ounce of fat on the 90-minute flick, which is downright miraculous in this era of gargantuan running times.
I knew I was in for a treat from the opening moment, when Black Bag jumps right into the action with a dazzling long take that follows George down a busy street, into a chaotic nightclub and back out again to have a clandestine meeting with a fellow agent (Gustaf Skarsgård). Where other filmmakers would use this difficult camera move to show off, Soderbergh (once again serving as his own director of photography and editor) makes it seem almost effortless – symbolizing how amazing Fassbender’s character is at his job.
From there, viewers get a look at the seeming domestic bliss George and Kathryn share compared to the chaotic relationships their coworkers are involved in. Is it genuine? Is it all for show, which George would consider a devastating betrayal? That’s the movie’s most vital mystery, so it’s a smart move for Soderbergh and Koepp to prioritize the narrative’s comparatively smaller emotional stakes over the usual “save the world” variety.
Sure, there’s a MacGuffin (the enigmatic doohickey practically every spy thriller requires) introduced to get the plot going, but it’s obvious from the start Black Bag isn’t really about that. The refreshing honesty makes the flick even better. Everyone knows we’re here to watch beautiful people be smart and duplicitous, so why pretend otherwise?
Fassbender and Blanchett are obviously the main attraction here (no pun intended, despite their scorching chemistry) and they’re outstanding, able to deliver pages of dialogue with a well-timed poker face or withering stare. But the duo is further strengthened by an incredible supporting cast that includes Page, Burke, Harris and a deeply smarmy Pierce Brosnan. (Which means Soderbergh managed to recruit a former Bond and Moneypenny for his British spy flick.)
However, the not-so-stealth MVP of Black Bag is Abela, who steals almost every scene she’s in as an alluring, delightfully candid operative. Do you know how good an actress has to be in order to upstage Fassbender and Blanchett, two of this generation’s best performers? I wasn’t familiar with her work before (including the recent Amy Winehouse biopic and the critically acclaimed HBO series Industry), but I’m sure making it a priority now.
Composer David Holmes (another frequent Soderbergh collaborator) crafts a terrific score for the flick, so reminiscent of his work on the Ocean’s trilogy that it has to be intentional. In fact, the score is only one of the many ways that Black Bag reminds me of those films. There’s the seemingly effortless cool I mentioned earlier, but there’s also impossibly high stakes; capable people doing their jobs well; amazing clothes; beautiful settings; and the eventual assurance that you’ve been in good hands the whole time.
If you’re one of the readers who often tell me they haven’t been to a movie theater in ages because “they don’t make ’em like they used to,” now is your chance to fix that. I can’t recommend Black Bag enough – it’s a bona fide movie for grownups. How refreshing.
Black Bag is rated R for language including sexual references, and some violence. Opens in theaters on March 14.
Grade: A
Reach out to Josh Sewell at joshsewell81@gmail.com or on BlueSky @joshsewell.bsky.social
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