Time: 94 Minutes
Age Rating: M – Violence, sexual references & offensive language
Cast:
Michael Fassbender as George Woodhouse
Cate Blanchett as Kathryn St. Jean
Marisa Abela as Clarissa Dubose
Tom Burke as Freddie Smalls
Naomie Harris as Dr. Zoe Vaughan
Regé-Jean Page as Col. James Stokes
Pierce Brosnan as Arthur Stieglitz
Director: Steven Soderbergh

I have been hearing a lot of praise for Black Bag. It’s a spy thriller with a great cast led by Cate Blanchett and Michael Fassbender, and the latest movie from Steven Soderbergh. It seemed right up my alley and having seen it, it definitely lived up to all the acclaim.

The premise is pretty familiar for a movie of this genre: a mystery about finding a traitor in a spy agency. It should be noted that while it is within the spy genre, it is absolutely not an explosive movie and it moves at a steady pace. The sharp script delivers on being a tight, engaging, and entertaining espionage whodunit. The dialogue is the real action of the movie, and the numerous and lengthy sequences of characters just talking are witty, delightful and entertaining to watch. The complex individual relationships and personal dynamics between the main characters are especially notable and are compelling to watch, helped by the wonderful chemistry between the cast. It’s also a very efficient movie, at 90 minutes in length, there is no fluff to be seen here.

Black Bag also strongly benefits from an amazing ensemble cast with Michael Fassbender, Cate Blanchett, Marisa Abela, Tom Burke, Naomie Harris, Regé-Jean Page and Pierce Brosnan. Fassbender and Blanchett are great in the lead roles as a couple who are both spies; their performances are restrained, but the chemistry between them is very believable. Burke and Abela are also standouts amongst the cast.

Steven Soderbergh’s direction is stylish and on point, he really is operating on his A game here. I liked the digital look, and it makes use of some really good tracking shots and some solid production design. The score from David Holmes also fits the mood and tone perfectly.

Black Bag is a witty, sharp, well crafted and cleverly written spy thriller, and with stellar performances from a fantastic ensemble.