Black Bag

It only took the team of director Steven Soderbergh and writer David Koepp two tries to deliver the first great film of 2025.

Less than 60 days after the release of their molasses-fast ghost story experiment Presence, the duo get back on track with Black Bag, their tight, thoroughly entertaining take on Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, and Soderbergh’s best work since 2017’s Logan Lucky.

Set in the world of British espionage, this John le Carré homage features another bespectacled George — one Mr. Woodhouse (Michael Fassbender) — smoking out a mole in his ranks. But while Smiley’s wife unintentionally played a key role in gumming up his investigation, this George’s spouse Kathryn St. Jean (Cate Blanchett) may actually be the rat.

Fassbender was just in this milieu for Showtime’s excellent series The Agency, and his mastery of the tics and isms of a veteran intelligence officer is evident. But it’s been a while since we’ve seen Blanchett have this much fun onscreen — maybe not since Thor: Ragnarok. She clearly relishes the opportunity to play such a free, confident woman, and particularly excels in her sexually-charged scenes with Fassbender.

Adding another layer of intrigue to the proceedings, the other suspects are two fellow couples: Clarissa Dubose (Marisa Abela, Back to Black) and Freddie Smalls (Tom Burke, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga) & Col. James Stokes (Regé-Jean Page, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves) and Dr. Zoe Vaughn (Naomie Harris, Moonlight). The extra dramas of romance plus George’s expert ability to push buttons as needed leads to a string of thrilling revelations, and the entire ensemble — rounded out by Gustaf “Yes, They’re Related” Skarsgård and a perfectly cast but slightly underused Pierce Brosnan — nail their assignments.

As usual, the film is lensed by Soderbergh (under his Peter Andrews alias), albeit with a degree of creative angles and thoughtful camera movements that he reserves for his poppiest work (Ocean’s 11; Logan Lucky; Haywire; The Limey). And thanks to his precise chopping (as editor pseudonym Mary Ann Bernard), the pace absolutely cooks, bringing this smart, twisty mystery in at an extremely lean 90 minutes.

The high level of suspense that Soderbergh is able to sustain is a wonder to behold, and the thing’s so captivating, well-made, and concise that you’ll want to watch Black Bag again as soon as possible.

Grade: A-minus. Rated R. Now playing at AMC River Hills 10, Carolina Cinemark, the Fine Arts Theatre, and Regal Biltmore Grande.

(Photo: Claudette Barius/Focus Features)