Black Bag movie review: Michael Fassbender, Cate Blanchett salvage Steven Soderbergh film

George (Fassbender) and Kathryn (Blanchett) are married to each other and work together in the spy business. It’s hard to trust either – and anyone else – as Soderbergh and his frequent collaborator, screenwriter David Koepp, establish early on, during a thrilling dinner where one is not sure whose head will be served on a platter.

Black Bag movie trailer:

And that’s the beauty of Black Bag, which skates on thin ice story-wise but keeps us looking for the currents building in the waters below.

Soderbergh is a director with a unique, intimate perspective all his own, particularly when it comes to relationships. Black Bag is no different, even though the film must – as a spy film must – conjure up a world threat. The spy game in this case is about a device called Severus which, if it fell into the wrong hands, could cause the wrong nuclear reactor in the wrong country to melt.

And so, of course, Severus does get passed around a lot of wrong hands. The intrigue lies in who in the spy business is complicit and how. George is told early on that Kathryn is among the suspects, and he goes on to tell her very, very meaningfully that “I will do anything for you… even kill.”

As long as you keep your eyes on Fassbender and Blanchett – not a hard task at all – and the film’s talented supporting cast, and are in step with its subtle un-seriousness, you may be able to forgive its underwhelming ambitions and almost dull action. Russia, though, gets its usual beating over the man-who-is-not-named (Putin) who provoked a war-that-is-senseless (Ukraine).

The other actors here include James Bond veterans Pierce Brosnan and Naomie Harris, and Marisa Abela who carries the same unmistakable sexiness and knowing confidence that made her a standout in the series Industry. Tom Burke and Rege Jean Page make up the other members of the spy group who may know “the perfect” George and Kathryn as well as they think they do – or may not.

“Not everyone aspires to your flagrant monogamy,” a fellow agent barks at George. If that won’t get you on the side of this man who can wear his white shirts and black polo necks, while he does the cleaning-up and the cooking around the house, this might: central to his schemes is a bowl of chana masala.

Black Bag movie director: Steven Soderbergh
Black Bag movie cast: Michael Fassbender, Cate Blanchett, Tom Burke, Marisa Abela, Marisa Abela, Rege Jean Page, Naomie Harris
Black Bag movie rating: 3.5 stars