Black Bag movie review: Taut, engaging spy thriller

Black Bag still

Film: Black Bag
Cast: Michael Fassbender, Gustaf Skarsgård, Cate Blanchett, Marisa Abela, Naomie Harris, Tom Burke
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Rating: 3/5
Runtime: 93 min

Multiple Oscar winner Steven Soderbergh dons multiple hats here as director-producer-editor-cinematographer and David Koepp, well-known writer of ‘Jurassic Park' and ‘Mission: Impossible' has written the screenplay. With such pedigree at the helm even the commonplace will seem intriguing.

The film is yet another version of the ‘Mr and Mrs Smith' construct. George (Michael Fassbender) and Kathryn (Oscar winner Cate Blanchett) are husband and wife secret agents that have taken a pledge to kill for each other if ever necessary. When secrecy is required, one spouse will utter the magic titular phrase, "black bag" signalling, ‘I love you, but can't tell you more'. They live in a stunning London apartment, which serves as the setting for all those secretive fun and games.

The MacGuffin in this spy story is Severus, a sophisticated code worm designed to take control of nuclear weaponry. But the real story here is finding out who the mole is inside the Secret Intelligence Service managed by Stieglitz (Pierce Brosnan). There are five suspects that George must investigate. Computer analyst Clarissa (Marisa Abela), agency veteran Freddie (Tom Burke), suave and self-confident Stokes (Rege-Jean Page), staff psychologist Dr. Zoe Vaughn (Naomie Harris) and last but not the least, George's wife Kathryn.

The spy thrills notwithstanding, there are several entanglements that add to the complexity here. Clarissa is dating the older Freddie, Stokes and Zoe are also seeing each other ... and there are several other complications.

This is a spy thriller with less action and a lot of talk. Nothing is revealed though. David Jones Jazz score complements the verbose proceedings along with solid dependable performances. Soderbergh tries to ply it ‘cool' but there's not much to get you involved. You can admire the shenanigans but they never get deep enough to get you totally involved. There's tension and loads of intrigue though and the film's cinematography has the look of an old-fashioned espionage thriller. Dark, sombre, colours all desaturated and grim, this is more serious than typical James Bond fare.This is a film that is enjoyable while it lasts.