It may be too early in the year to cast a vote for the coolest cinematic couple of 2025 but George Woodhouse (Michael Fassbender) and Kathryn St. Jean (Cate Blanchett) will surely be on the shortlist come year’s end. Steven Soderbergh’s Black Bag takes slow burn to a new level and this power couple play a prime role in that. It’s a spy tale so understated that every little nuance needs to be thoroughly examined.
It all starts with a submerged storyline and while you feel an undercurrent of skulduggery nothing obvious rises to the surface for quite some time. It might even be a tad tardy for those who desire overdriven onscreen action from the go as the genre is often known for those big loud openers. Soderbergh is such an established auteur and he plays to his strengths here including his usual star-studded cast.
You get several James Bond alumni like Pierce Brosnan (the man himself) and Naomie Harris (Moneypenny) as well as Regé-Jean Page (Bridgerton) and another Skarsgår brother, in this case Gustaf. They are all given some delectable dialogue to deliver and they do it so well. These are some very detailed performances and the acting momentum provides David Koepp’s screenplay with a glorious sheen.
This is a film for the hardcore fan of the thinking man’s spy yarn and you need to invest in it to get maximum enjoyment. Bullets might not fly with regularity but the performances provide plenty of sparks and when things do ratchet up and reach the inevitable crescendo the action is more than sufficient to prove completely satisfying.
Rob Hudson
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