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Posted in: Focus Features, Kaitlyn Booth, Movies, Review | Tagged: black bag
Black Bag Review: Another Slick And Stylish Thriller From Soderbergh
Every piece of Black Bag, from the cast to the set production design to the music, fits together like a perfect little puzzle.
Article Summary
- Soderbergh's Black Bag dazzles as a stylish spy thriller with a clever, twisty plot.
- Michael Fassbender and Cate Blanchett captivate as a secretive couple on screen.
- Black Bag features a talented British ensemble cast, elevating the film's intrigue.
- Tight writing and seamless direction create a refreshing, tension-filled spy drama.
Black Bag is another example of director Steven Soderbergh reminding everyone how to make a fun, twisty little spy thriller elevated by an excellent cast and tight script.
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Summary: When intelligence agent Kathryn Woodhouse is suspected of betraying the nation, her husband – also a legendary agent – faces the ultimate test of whether to be loyal to his marriage or his country.
All Of The Pieces Of Black Bag Come Together So Well
There are three ways to go about movie marketing. You can be very upfront about the movie you are releasing by laying out all of your cards on the table. "What it says on the tin," if you will. This week, we had a release like that with Novocaine, which is very upfront about what it is in its marketing, and that is the movie that appears on screen. Then there is the marketing that is completely deceptive to the point that it's detrimental to how the audience perceives the movie. They come in expecting A, and they get B, which is something that usually makes the experience worse for the audience. Black Bag is an example of the third way to go about it, in that the marketing deception is built into how the film is meant to be experienced. Director Steven Soderbergh and writer David Koepp use your assumptions about what will happen against you. You expect the movie to turn right, but it turns left, and going left is a better route anyway.
Anyone familiar with Soderbergh's work also knows what they are getting into. Specifically, fans of his three Ocean's films will find a lot to love about Black Bag. It features that same effortlessly cool feeling those three films had, with beautiful people in stunning outfits running around and doing morally duplicitous things. Koepp's writing is so tight and well-structured that everything perfectly flows together. It's a slick ~95 minutes that flows at a nice and steady pace. Soderbergh starts things off with an awesome tracking shot of Michael Fassbender walking through the streets of London at night and eventually into an underground club to meet a contact. Soderbergh makes it look so seamless, and the whole film radiates that easy confidence.
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- Michael Fassbender stars as George Woodhouse in director Steven Soderbergh's BLACK BAG, a Focus Features release. Credit: Claudette Barius/Focus Features © 2025 All Rights Reserved.
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- Cate Blanchett stars as Kathryn St. Jean in director Steven Soderbergh's BLACK BAG, a Focus Features release. Credit: Claudette Barius/Focus Features © 2025 All Rights Reserved.
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- (L to R) Michael Fassbender as George Woodhouse, Tom Burke as Freddie Smalls and Pierce Brosnan as Arthur Steiglitz in director Steven Soderbergh's BLACK BAG, a Focus Features release. Credit: Claudette Barius/Focus Features © 2025 All Rights Reserved.
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- (L to R) Regé-Jean Page as Col. James Stokes, Naomie Harris as Dr. Zoe Vaughn and Michael Fassbender as George Woodhouse in director Steven Soderbergh's BLACK BAG, a Focus Features release. Credit: Claudette Barius/Focus Features © 2025 All Rights Reserved.
It also helps that it features a list of top-tier talent putting in some really interesting work. Fassbender and Cate Blanchett are both good in nearly everything they do, but the way they move around each other in this film is fascinating. They have truly managed to capture the essence of two people who are very settled in their marriage and keeping a ton of secrets from each other while being totally aware that they are keeping those secrets from one another. Their dynamic is fun, and it only gets more and more interesting as Black Bag continues.
They are joined by a small list of excellent British talent you've seen in many different places. Regé-Jean Page, Naomie Harris, and Tom Burke are the three we interact with the most, but Pierce Brosnan and Gustaf Skarsgård both have smaller roles as well. Once again, when you meet these people, the film automatically sets you up to make some assumptions about the characters. It uses those assumptions against you as the film goes on, and everyone's hands are tipped. Everyone does an excellent job keeping the tension up as the stakes continue to rise.
Every piece of Black Bag, from the cast to the set production design to the music, fits together like a perfect little puzzle. It's a puzzle that doesn't reinvent the wheel in any way, and this movie isn't here to change spy dramas as we know them. However, Soderbergh and Koepp have created a spy film that will appeal to those sick of how bombastic everything has gotten in the blockbuster age. When dealing with assassins and spies, the real tension is from something as simple as a dinner party. Black Bag gets it, which makes it so refreshing, even if it isn't innovative.
Black Bag
8.5/10
Black Bag is another example of director Steven Soderbergh reminding everyone how to make a fun, twisty little spy thriller elevated even higher by an excellent cast and tight script.
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