Black Bag Review: Secrets Unveiled With An Almost 100 Percent RT Score Film

Steven Soderbergh announced his retirement back in 2011, and we are happy that it was just a hoax. He gave us one of the highest-scored Rotten Tomatoes films that made the critics and audience both happy.

We have come up with our own in-depth Black Bag review, Soderbergh’s latest masterpiece, that will help you decide whether you should drive to your nearest theatre to watch it right away or skip it and relax at home.

Black Bag movie plot

The story revolves around a couple, George Woodhouse (played by Michael Fassbender) and his wife Kathryn (played by Cate Blanchett). Kathryn is in trouble when she is suspected of a national security breach, leading to the risking the lives of millions of people.

Their marriage is right at stake, and that is where George has to face an ultimate test: to choose between his country and his marriage. 

The twist lies in the fact that George is given a list of traitors and he finds his wife’s name on it. He sets on a mission to discover whether his wife is a liar and whether he would be able to save their relationship. 

The director’s storytelling might make it seem that everything is perfect now after their colleague James Stokes (played by Rege-Jean Page) is uncovered by George as the real villain. He is killed, and the couple is happy that the game is over.

Don’t be that easy because the fear still looms over, and the breach of trust has already been made. Can they actually trust each other again now? You have to see it for yourself. 

Meanwhile, watch the trailer here: 

Want to read something similar? Have a look at The Electric State review.

What are the budget and gross earnings of Black Bag?

According to Collider, Black Bag was produced with a budget of $50 million. The movie opened with an estimated $7.5 million domestically over the weekend.

37 overseas markets gave the movie a further $4.3 million and another $11.8 million on a global scale. 

Previously, Steven Soderbergh gave films like Presence (2024), Let Them All Talk (2020), No Sudden Move (2021), and Kimi (2022), which all did well in one way or another. However, Black Bag is the best RT score holder to date.  

Focus Features enjoyed another box office success just recently, Nosferatu and Soderbergh has enjoyed the same luck with Ocean’s trilogy. 

Michael Fassbender and Cate Blanchett’s performance

Fassbender is seen playing a subtle and unnerving character with a sharp resolution of finding the truth. With his laser-sharp focus, he is not giving in to any betrayal. On the other hand, Blanchett plays a different level of calm and cool with style and glamour. She is not here to take remarks and says right away to anyone’s face when needed. 

The performances are strong as the couple’s bond is questioned by others, and how they manage to take it off from there all rests upon their acting skills. The director plays smart by asking Kathryn to play a poker-faced wife who George is unable to solve till the last minute. It’s like a cat-and-mouse game and beating the other at his own game.   

Entertainment Weekly quoted that Fassbender and Soderbergh urged the audience to implement the ‘black bag’ in their own lives. They attributed the ‘black bag’ to the analogy of marriage.

They were of the view that people should consider whether they tell the truth to each other as husband and wife. Whether they protect their marriage as George and Kathryn. 

 

 

 

 

 

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Director’s vision of the film

Indie Wire reported that David and Soderbergh talked about how the movie should be, and they agreed on one thing: it should be an “espionage version of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”

It was a 1962 play by Edward Albee, which was later adapted into a 1966 film (directed by Mike Nichols) with the star cast of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. Soderbergh is a huge fan of the film himself and was close to Nichols. 

Soderbergh explained he wanted to make Black Bag more of a blockbuster serious affair and got the apt star cast as it was meant to be a Hollywood film. He wanted to “make them look great”.  

Discussing the prospects of releasing the film in theatres, he mentioned to The Wrap that young people are more interested in going out and watching in theatres. They are even more aware of the filmmakers these days and want to watch a “wide range of stuff”.

He expects the trend to continue and more movies to be released, not only in the US but across the globe. He was hopeful that Black Bag could win such an audience too.   

Writer’s vision of the film

While talking to Indie Wire, David Koepp opened up about his inspiration to write Black Bag’s story. He told that he first got this idea when he was working on Mission Impossible in 1996 or 97. 

He confessed that he was “being nosy” with one of the CIA people and asked her questions about her personal life. He got to know that she was always finding it hard to trust anyone as the nature of her job demanded it so. 

The idea finally resonated with him but with a different angle. There are several spy movies in the world but not with a personal life touch. He was sure from day one that an intimate relationship like that of a married couple would be the sole focus of the ultimate Soderbergh spy thriller.

He said, “A married relationship is sort of by definition meant to be a settled relationship…so, we have to find tension…I wanted to do something different and so I found the tension somewhere else.”   

What do critics add to the Black Bag review?

The overall critics’ review on Rotten Tomatoes is noteworthy as it said, 

“Black Bag is an exemplary espionage caper that lets movie stars like Cate Blanchett and Michael Fassbender do what they do best — light up the screen.”

• Moreover, Variety stated via Digital Spy that it is one of Soderbergh’s “smartest and sexiest films yet”. 

• Deadline said that the 93-minute movie gave the older audience a chance to head back to the theatres as it was one of the best opportunities Soderbergh grabbed to capitalize on the sizzling cast and witty dialogues. 

• The Wrap also called it “an insidiously great spy movie, mature and satisfying”. 

• The general public was also happy with the movies, and the majority of the reviews showed 4 to 4.5 stars on Rotten Tomatoes Popcornmeter detailed ratings. They classified it to be a “great mystery thriller” and “sharp beautifully photographed heavy dialogue movie”. 

Will there be a sequel to Black Bag?

As per Entertainment Weekly, Soderbergh spilled the beans that the screenwriter David Koepp (screenwriter for Jurassic Park, Mission Impossible, and Spider-Man) might have an idea for a sequel in mind. 

He said, “If we were fortunate enough with success to be asked to continue this story, David has a really good idea.”

Soderberg clarified that David had a notion to justify the repercussions of the action. Which action? The action of killing James that would be translated into another massive feature. 

Moreover, the director cited that the cast is interested in returning for another installment. Right now, he cannot share any more details and is waiting for the film’s performance at the box office which would clearly determine the fate of its sequel. 

Our rating: 7/10

Is Black Bag available for streaming right now?

Currently, Black Bag is exclusively available in theatres. However, it is anticipated to stream on Peacock after a few days as the distribution rights are acquired by Focus Features, which is owned by Universal/Comcast. Specific dates have not been announced yet.  

Genre: Spy, drama, thriller, romance 

IMDb rating: 7.4

Rotten Tomatoes: 97 percent on Tomatometer (critics score) and 71 percent on Popcornmeter 

Cast: Michael Fassbender, Cate Blanchett, Pierce Brosnan, Gustaf Skarsgard, Marisa Abela, Tom Burke, Naomie Harris, Rege-Jean Page

Director: Steven Soderbergh

Writer: David Koepp

Producers: Casey Silver, Gregory Jacobs

Release date: March 14, 2025

Movie runtime: 1 hour 33 minutes 

Have you watched it yet? What do you think of Black Bag? Share your thoughts below.