Utility filmmaker Steven Soderbergh presents a sleek spy thriller that lands on intrigue and misses on humor. Merciless British intelligence agents bite and claw through the dialogue (script credit to David Koepp), anamorphic cinematography protrudes the eye like an investigation lamp, and the jazzy drumkit score makes the 90 minutes breeze by. Like most Soderbergh flicks, it is good entertainment but nothing to text home about.
I’m a huge Michael Fassbender fan, and I don’t think I can name a Cate Blanchet film I didn’t like. These two conniving in a husband/wife, spy vs. spy setup is gold on paper and the screen. Alongside their “perfect” marriage in their espionage workplace is a stellar supporting cast of psychologists and agents (Naomie Harris, Regé-Jean Page, Marisa Abela, and Tom Burke)—all hunting down a mole within their ranks.
The battle of words keeps the viewer on edge, but the missing tongue-in-cheek takes the fun out of the game. There is something about Fassbender’s calculated detachment in The Killer that doesn’t read the same in this husband role. The theatre audience I was in didn’t laugh once, and we really wanted to.
Think of Black Bag as a more sophisticated Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005) and colder Knives Out (2019).
Black Bag *** out of *****
Reely Bernie 
I’ll watch it for Cate, but there’s a pretty good supporting cast too. 😀
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I remember you love Cate. She’s fabulous! 😉
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