Film Review: Black Bag

Welcome back to the blog readers. Out of all the film genres that intrigue me the most, it absolutely would have to be the spy thriller genre. Unfortunately, not many spy thrillers come out nowadays because none of them are very good in the long run. Nothing will ever compare to James Bond (1962-) however. Hearing about this one, I was certainly intrigued. That trailer was action-packed and full of mystery. Would the final product be as good as the trailer? Stick around to find out.

Black Bag was directed by Steven Soderbergh from a screenplay by David Koepp. The film stars Cate Blanchett, Michael Fassbender, Marisa Abela, Tom Burke, Naomie Harris, Regé-Jean Page, and Pierce Brosnan. In the film, a husband-wife duo that works for a spy company discovers there is a mole within. Racing against the clock to stop a nuclear fallout, the husband must determine who the mole is and test the waters of his rocky marriage when it is suspected to be his wife.

This is the second collaboration between Soderbergh and Koepp this year after January's Presence (2025), a film I was very lukewarm on. My eventual disappointment in that film had tampered my expectations for this film. Then I saw the critical reviews and that gave me hope. Then I went to see the film and was so relieved that I absolutely loved this film. The performances (especially from Cate Blanchett and Michael Fassbender) were breathtakingly good and the action is in the drama. It was awesome.

I want to first talk about the performance of Mrs. Academy Awards Cate Blanchett. In case it hasn't been absolutely obvious over this last twenty or so years, Blanchett can do almost anything with the grace and passion to make you believe in her roles. She brought so much to Hela in Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Lydia in Tár (2022), Brie in Don't Look Up (2021), her villainous role in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008), and her claims to fame: The Aviator (2004) and Blue Jasmine (2013). But I think her performance in this film is slick, it is sexy, and it is so full of mysticism in the sense that you are haunted by it well after you leave the theater. Blanchett can do no wrong, and seeing her get to do what she does best: act her ass off is an absolute fucking delight.

Now we move on to her costar, who I think is one of the more underrated actors in the business. Prometheus (2012) and Alien: Covenant (2017), the X-Men film series (2011-19), Steve Jobs (2015), 12 Years a Slave (2013), what else is there to say about this guy? One of my favorite guys in the business has never taken on a role like this. I think as the emotional anchor of this film, Fassbender has a whole lot of heavy-lifting to do, and he does it absolutely perfectly. I cannot believe the level of confident brashness that he displays in every frame, and that Bond-suaveness is utterly addicting. He won't get an Oscar nomination or anything for this, but he is someone I would watch out for as a sleeper.

I really enjoyed the rest of the cast in this film as well, and I will make an analogy to something that I realized while I was watching this film. Regé-Jean Page was a delight in this film, and what a way to make a first impression on me. I could say the same for Marisa Abela, whose claim to fame was playing Amy Winehouse in Back to Black (2024). She was spellbinding in this film as well. And for a brief moment, Pierce Brosnan plays the snot-nosed dick that is awesome to watch. And whenever the cast is just plainly doing what they do, I almost feel like they are in a stage play. This film feels like a stage play with all the interplay and hypnotic chemistry of the cast.

And finally, I want to make mention of the story of this film. And I want to preface what I am about to say with this: the story of spy thrillers is never really one that features a whole lot of world-breaking ideas. But the good ones are able to use their paper-thin plots and craft a stellar world around them. And this film absolutely does that in spades. This story feels larger than life thanks to the star-studded cast and the expert dialogue from David Koepp. Every sentence has weight to it, every decision feels great in scale because Soderbergh and Koepp are exceptional at crafting a real and grounded world for us to be living in in this film.

In conclusion, Black Bag is a suave and sensual spy thriller that perfectly highlights its exceptional cast and allows them to do what they do best - tear the house down. Thank you all for reading, and I will see you for the next post.