BLACK BAG (2025)

March 13, 2025

Greetings again from the darkness. Are you ready for 90 minutes of cool people wearing cool clothes and doing cool things while acting cool in the face of danger? If so, this one is for you. Oscar winner Steven Soderbergh (TRAFFIC, 2000; OCEAN’S ELEVEN, 2001; OCEAN’S TWELVE, 2004) dons multiple hats here as director-producer-editor-cinematographer (some under familiar pseudonyms). The screenplay comes from well-known writer David Koepp (JURASSIC PARK, 1993; MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE, 1996). The pedigree of these two is exemplified by the cast assembled.

George (Michael Fassbender) and Kathryn (Oscar winner Cate Blanchett) star as husband and wife secret agents that have pledged to kill for each other if ever necessary. Really, that should be part of every wedding vow. Fastidious George has built his reputation on his mystical ability to spot a lie, and has no room for anyone who is less than honest. Glamorous Kathryn excels at her missions and when secrecy is required, one spouse will utter the magic titular phrase, “black bag”. This signals, ‘I love you, but can’t tell you more’. They live in a stunning London apartment, which serves as the setting for two particularly crucial dinner parties.

Every spy story worth its mettle has at least one MacGuffin, and ours is Severus, a sophisticated code worm designed to take control of nuclear weaponry. While it gets mentioned numerous times, the real story here is in discovering who the mole is inside the Secret Intelligence Service managed by Stieglitz (Pierce Brosnan). The five suspects George must investigate include computer analyst Clarissa (Marisa Abela, BACK TO BLACK, 2019), easily tempted agency veteran Freddie (Tom Burke, so excellent in THE SOUVENIR, 2019), suave and self-confident Stokes (Rege-Jean Page, “Bridgerton”), and staff psychologist Dr. Zoe Vaughn (Naomie Harris, MOONLIGHT, 2016). You’ll notice that’s just four suspects, as the fifth (unknown to her) is George’s wife Kathryn. Adding to the intricacies of the jobs, the dinner parties, and this mole mission is the fact that George and Kathryn aren’t the only couple in attendance. Clarissa is dating the older Freddie, while Stokes and Zoe are also seeing each other … and there are likely other surprise complications with this group.

True fans of spy thrillers should know that this is not a new TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY (2011), but rather a user-friendly story in the mold of the “Mission: Impossible” movies – only with less action and no high-wire stunt sequences. Instead, these agents withhold a lot while still talking a lot (some of the dialogue is quite funny). It’s more of a personality chess match than an assault on our senses. Complementing the verbose proceedings is a perfect twisty jazz score from David Holmes. We must also take note of the numerous ties to the James Bond franchise (Brosnan, Harris, and rumors), and it’s best to just sit back and enjoy Soderbergh in his element (this is his second film released in 2025) … entertainment with a cool vibe.

Opens in theaters on March 14, 2025

WATCH THE TRAILER

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Posted by David Ferguson

HAYWIRE

January 17, 2012

 Greetings again from the darkness. Caught an early screening of this one and my quick description is that it’s a mash-up of The Bourne Identity, Salt, and the original “Mod Squad” (it has a kind of retro feel). In other words, it’s a fun ride featuring stunning fight scenes filmed with an artistry that only director Steven Soderbergh can achieve.

Newcomer Gina Carano stars as Mallory Kane, an independent contractor … the type who handles dirty work for governments and the powerful people who must keep their hands somewhat clean. She gets double-crossed on a Barcelona job and becomes the target herself while in Dublin. So this lethal weapon goes on a globe-trotting mission of revenge and messes up people and hotel rooms in the process. If you think a woman can’t carry action scenes, then you don’t realize Ms. Carano is an MMA fighter. She is the real deal. Her physical skills are on full display and leave little doubt as to her deadly talent.

 Since this is a Soderbergh film, you know the cast is well-stocked. We get Michael Douglas, Antonio Banderas and Ewan McGregor all at their smarmy best. Additionally we see Michael Fassbender, Channing Tatum and Bill Paxton (as Mallory’s father). Trust me when I say not all of these character fare so well in their showdowns with Mallory. Though the script from Lem Dobbs is pretty basic, Soderbergh’s way of telling the story is compelling enough to keep us interested between Carano’s fights.

The color palette alternates between the brown/gold Soderbergh used for Traffic, and the blue/gray from his “Ocean’s” franchise. The jazzy score from David Holmes is a wonderful compliment to the wide variety of scenes and locations, and the tongue-in-cheek humor is expert enough to keep you smiling through the all too serious business chats. A perfect example of the wry humor is that the movie begins and ends with the same one syllable word (begins with an “S”).

Soderbergh is one of the few directors who refuses to get pigeon-holed into making a certain type of movie. Never short on style or visual flair, he touches many genres and here proves he can twist the action-thriller in a new, fun to watch direction. If you kick back and go for the ride, Haywire will show you a great time.

a note of trivia: Gina Carano is the daughter of former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Glenn Carano

SEE THIS MOVIE IF: you are a fan of Salt and the “Bourne” movies OR you want to see a woman totally capable of kicking ass

SKIP THIS MOVIE IF: you are going to take it too seriously and expect a dose of heavy-handed Soderbergh filmmaking (he seems to actually have fun with this one)

watch the trailer:

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Posted by David Ferguson