Black Bag is a spy thriller directed by Steven Soderbergh about a married couple who are both spies working for British intelligence. Although devoted to one another George (Michael Fassbender) and Kathryn (Cate Blanchett) often use the words ‘black bag’ when they are working on something they can’t share with one another.
It turns out there is a mole somewhere in the organisation who has stolen a piece of tech that could kill thousands of people, and George has to find out the identity of the rogue agent before the tech can be used – suspicion falls on his team and his wife.
The film is quite slow as it builds up to a climax and there are a lot of deeply involved scenes with a lot of dense dialogue but somehow this gradual burn seems to build up the tension really well. For the first twenty minutes I wasn’t sure about it, but the interesting and someone odd set of characters and the intrigue slowly drew me in.
The performances are very strong and each of the actors creates quite memorable moments throughout the movie. It’s a fun, if at times silly movie, but it is worth watching and I couldn’t work out who the baddy was until the final climax.
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Michael Fassbender, Marisa Abela, Tom Burke, Naomie Harris, Regé-Jean Page, Pierce Brosnan
Directed by: Stephen Soderbergh
Duration: 94 Minutes
Open in New Zealand -13 March 2025
