For a director that retired over a decade ago, Oscar winner Steven Soderberg is not only busy with two films releasing this year alone but is also making some of the best movies of his career such as Logan Lucky and Unsane to mention a few. Soderberg continues this great form here with Black Bag greatly assisted by a stunning script from David Koepp (Jurassic Park, Mission: Impossible). Stylish, taut and thrilling all in one glorious hit, Black Bag is a superb cat and mouse spy drama anchored by metamorphic performances from Fassbender and Blanchett. One of the best films of 2025.

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George Woodhouse (Michael Fassbender) and his beloved wife Kathryn (Cate Blanchett) are legendary British intelligence agents. When a device that could result in hundreds of thousands of deaths goes missing, George has only seven days to find the traitor who stole it. When he discovers that Kathryn is one of the five suspects, George faces the ultimate test – his love for Kathryn or his allegiance to his country.

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From the get go, Black Bag is thoroughly economical. This may seem like strange praise for an artistic venture such as a film, but Soderberg doesn’t waste time with excessive exposition or unnecessary subplots that don’t serve the overall thrust of the narrative. That’s not to say that the characters here aren’t merely one dimensional, they are all completely fleshed out in a stage play-like manner around the dinner table at the beginning of the film with the reveal of the traitor happening in a similar manner in the final act. 

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The economical feel of the film continues in its production and editing - everything is stripped back to serve the Agatha Christie like whodunnit while still maintaining the British stylish flare of a classic spy film. 

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While Blanchett is mesmerizing and mysterious, completely capturing the aloofness of a spy, it's Fassbender that is the real star of the show. It’s one of his best performances in recent memory as he brings all the surgical prowess to George, creating a character that has certain streaks of Tinker Tailor’s Smiley about him.

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Stylish, taut and thrilling all in one glorious hit, Black Bag is a superb cat and mouse spy drama anchored by metamorphic performances from Fassbender and Blanchett. One of the best films of 2025.