There are spy movies and there are spy movies. The golden age of spy movies might be the ones ushered in by the James Bond films. They became the world’s most successful film franchise. There were spy spoofs from the Dean Martin Matt Helm series to the Mike Meyers Austin Powers series. There were some impressive offshoots like Jason Bourne series and of course Tom Cruise’s Mission Impossible series. Movie audiences have a love affair with spies and the spy genre.
Most recently Director Steven Soderberg and screen writer David Koepp have ventured into the world of espionage in “Black Bag” starring Michael Fassbender (as George) and Cate Blanchett (as Kathryn). They play husband and wife, both deeply entrenched in the world of British intelligence. They are both operatives. Both are seasoned veterans who are good at what they do, which occasionally includes killing people in the line of duty.
As spelled out in the movie trailers, a dilemma arises when George is given a list of five people who are suspected of being a major security risk. He has a week to find the culprit. One of the names on the list is Kathryn.
The husband-and-wife killers storyline has been done before in movies like “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” with Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie back in 2005 It’s not new.
What’s different here is the tone of the movie which delves into the complex details of the people on the hit list—their backgrounds and relationships. They are all spies. All are experts at lying and deception. They don’t discuss their assignments, even with their spouses or significant others. Their stock answer when they can’t talk about something is “Black Bag.” It’s their code word for things that must remain secret.
“Black Bag” is all about mind games. It’s a very cerebral film. There are dinner parties with clever games designed to probe the psyches of the guests -- probing so intense that it can trigger the sudden violent stabbing of a steak knife through the back of a hand. The stakes are high.
Later in the movie there is an intricately intercut scene of the various characters undergoing a lie detector test. At this level of specialized training, you would expect one of the characters would know how to beat the test (using real-life techniques). It’s a nice dramatic touch.
Unlike some of the action-packed spy movies that have evolved over the years, “Black Bag” steers away from the high-speed chases, dangerous stunts and spectacular explosions, for the most part. It is very toned down. Koepp and Soderberg are clearly targeting a more sophisticated audience, one that loves to drown in nuance and complexity. It’s a departure from what audiences might expect, based on the movie trailers.
Though Soderberg is a veteran director and cinematographer (listed as Peter Andrews in the credits). He often edits his movies as well (under the name of Mary Ann Bernard). His many movies include: “Sex, Lies, and Videotape” (1989), “Traffic” (2000), and “Erin Brockovich” (2000). Recently he and David Koepp collaborated on the ghost story “Presence” (2024).
What’s so surprising about “Black Bag” is the sloppiness of the lighting and camerawork. While it could be argued that the intent was to create a raw visual aesthetic, what we get is some noticeably bad lighting and framing, as well as shaky screen direction, repeatedly crossing the famous 180-degree line—a cardinal rule that freshman film students learn in Filmmaking 101.
They are the kind of errors that one doesn’t expect from a seasoned director/cameraman. It raises the question of whether Soderberg might have been working under an incredibly tight production schedule and restrictive budget.
Sadly, there are unflattering angles of Cate Blanchett’s face that could have been resolved by moving the camera the distance of just a few inches. She may not be in her youthful prime, but Blanchett is still an attractive woman when the lighting and camera angles are working in her favor.
There are a few nods to the famed 007 series in “Black Bag” with the casting of Pierce Brosnan who appeared as James Bond in “Tomorrow Never Dies” (1997) and “The World is Not Enough” (1999), and Naomie Harris who played Moneypenny in the Daniel Craig 007 movies.
Despite their inclusion, “Black Bag” is nothing remotely resembling a James Bond flick. It is a modestly budgeted, 1 hour 33 minute whodunnit that has you guessing all the way to the end. It’s not as saucy or sexy as the trailers imply though the characters have some naughty bits in their past. As with much of the film, it’s mostly all talk.
“Black Bag” is Rated R for language (with sexual references) and violence.
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