Dallas Fisher

“It’s boring how much you think about money”

Black Bag is a spy thriller, a romance, and a whodunit. Steven Soderbergh is a master of at least trying different genres for his features, but he succeeds here at mixing quite a few in one.

George (Michael Fassbender) and Kathryn (Cate Blanchett) are a married couple at the top of their game, in what we can assume is MI6. When Kathryn is suspected of treason, George has to go to work and dig into what’s really going on. Fassbender’s performance could be considered wooden but I see it more as focused, plus it’s a lot of fun watching him toy with the people around him. Fassbender and Blanchett are incredibly sexy together, even in their small amount of combined screen time.

The rest of the cast is superb, the writing is smart, and the music is just plain cool. There’s so much to like throughout this film, including how tight it is. There’s more than a few characters that need some unfolding and not a single breath is wasted while doing so. You feel like a tiny character placed throughout these locations as you watch everything unfold. It was interesting (in a good way) getting to see the inner workings of a spy thriller that didn’t focus strictly on action set pieces and an over the top comedy relief.

I will say, dense dialogue can make you feel like you’re playing catch up for a bit of the second act. But, don’t let that get you discouraged, keep your ears and eyes open and you’ll find your footing. There’s so much style and eye candy for anyone and everyone watching. The final act is one of the best ways I’ve seen a movie wrapped up in years and it should seriously be considered one of the best scenes of Soderbergh’s career.

8.5/10