Black Bag review: The spy who bored me

Despite the cast's best efforts, nothing stops Steven Soderbergh's newest spy drama, Black Bag feeling empty. I was neither shaken or stirred, but thouroughly bored.

Lies, deception, double crossing, loyalty and betrayal are usually the makings of a thrilling spy movie. But in Steven Soderbergh case, it is all the ingredients of a painfully average and forgettable spy drama.

Black Bag should have had me on the edge of my seat. A tight run time of 94 minutes consisting of a charming English ensemble and spearheaded by Cate Blanchet and Michael Fassbender trying to uncover a mystery, on paper is great. 

But films are unfortunately not watched on paper.

To its credit, it wastes no time. From the minute it starts you are thrusted straight into the central mystery. Someone has betrayed their nation and its up to Fassbender’s swarve and calculated George Woodhouse to figure out the culprit.

Is it his beloved wife and fellow brooding spy Kathryn St. Jean (Cate Blanchett)? Or is it one of the other four various English spy operatives?

As time ticks down, and the lies grow thicker, it's up to George to unmask the culprit.

Fassbender is up to his usual stick as our protagonist. He's stoic, brooding, a clear standout and commands every scene he is in. It is the kind of performance we have become acustomed to in his work. Which you can never scoff at, but it will leave you with the nagging feeling that you have seen this character before and done a lot better.

This goes for the film as a whole. The slick dialogue between characters is compelling at times and the mystery not to convoluted where you lose interest, but you can’t help shake the fact that you would rather be spending your time watching any other spy drama.

 individually each character fail to leave any impression. So much so I had to search what their characters names were straight after finishing the film.

No one is outright bad in this film. The four Brits, Marisa Abela, Tom Burke, Naomie Harris and Regé-Jean Page, as the other accused culprits do well with what they are given, but they do nothing that leaves an impact on you.

Even Fassbender and Blanchett, as good as they are, fail to deliver even one memorable line or action.

Which is where Black Bag falters. It never gets you to care about these characters or the wider stakes. It doesn't matter how well each actor performs, without properly executing the high stakes they set out, it just feels pointless.

No matter how hard you try, you never find yourself caring about what would happen if they didn't find the culprit.

This all leads to a very lacklustre final reveal. No big twist and no huge shock. At the very most the reveal will make you raise your eyebrow.

I hoped to leave the cinema, excited to recommend this to everyone I know and hold it as one of the best films of the year. However, when asked about my thoughts towards this film, all I could muster up was “It’s alright”. Nothing more, nothing less.

Ask me again in a few weeks, and I will no doubt having nothing to tell you, as I wont remember any of it.

Rating: ⭐⭐1/2