Black Bag (2025)

Black Bag is Steven Soderbergh's best film since Che (Parts 1&2, both 2008). The man is almost hitting peak Woody Allen numbers with his turnouts, and Black Bag is already his second release this year after Presence. It's especially impressive considering he supposedly retired almost a decade ago, and has since managed to churn out around a film a year.

In that time he's being refining his range, sculpting films of around ninety minutes and using innovative techniques to do so (Unsane, [2018], Presence [2025]), and the results have always been pretty reliable- indeed Soderbergh is simply a director you can generally trust.

With Black Bag however, he's outdone himself. In a similar way to Clint Eastwood's Juror #2 at the end of last year, this is a film in which the director has nailed down his latter day output to a T; it's the accumulation of a growing style that finally all comes together in one film, making for -without doubt- one of the most entertaining cinema outings of 2025.

Michael Fassbender and Cate Blanchett are George and Kathryn Woodhouse, British intelligent agents. George has been tasked with unmasking a traitor within the organisation, someone who has stolen (and is going to sell) a piece of devastating new technology that could kill thousands. So naturally he invites the prime suspects to his marital home for a dinner party, lacing one of the dishes with truth serum to see what he can learn. Adding a twist to all of this, naturally, is that his wife Kathryn is also undoubtedly a suspect.

If it all sounds like Tinker Tailor Solider Spy (2011) that's because it is; but by way of Knives Out (2019). Soderbergh brings a humour to proceedings that is frequently amusing yet remains tense enough to genuinely keep you guessing. This sort of hi-jinks brings to mind Soderbergh's Ocean's Eleven remake (2001), and Black Bag's tone certainly evokes the work of Danny Ocean and co. although there's also no denying the influence of the Bond franchise. In fact Soderbergh openly invites the connotation by casting Pierce Brosnan as Fassbender's boss.

Black Bag is a more psychological piece of work than anything James Bond has ever been a part of however; the action in the film takes place mainly between the ears of the characters, all leading up to an Agatha Christie style (or Benoit Blanc if you like) reveal that is not only well written but flawlessly executed, resulting in a more than satisfying conclusion.

The score by Soderbergh regular David Holmes is playful and nudging, but also perfectly implemented throughout the film; centre stage but also in the background. Oftentimes it feels like a less serious version of David Fincher's The Killer (2023) which also starred Fassbender in the lead role.

Black Bag is a hugely entertaining, brilliantly acted and adroit spy thriller that wears its influences on its sleeve; Soderbergh's recent oeuvre has toyed with different styles and techniques, but Black Bag finds him firing on all cylinders. It might not be the most critically lauded film of his career, but it's arguably his most accomplished within his own neoteric style. It's an absolute blast. 8.5/10