Delightful bag of vintage spy thrills

At its core, Black Bag is a dual spy thriller and marriage drama. In the opening scene, George is essentially asked which he puts first: king and country or spouse? It would be like Mr and Mrs Smith if that film were much smarter and less obsessed with gunplay. The complex and twisty narrative that's also timely and not beyond the realm of possibility starts from a similar premise and lets its various intertwining threads, double crosses and secret agendas guide its storytelling. Everything George discovers — which Soderbergh and writer David Koepp keep close to the chest until the reveal — relates to his marriage. And he digs himself into successively deeper holes as a result.

Soderbergh and Koepp (Jurassic Park, Sam Raimi's Spider-Man) have crafted a lean, sleek, efficient spy caper with just enough emotional subtext to make vintage espionage action feel relevant — as well as fun. George's focus on his wife and the possibility of her betraying both him and their country intensify into a personal anxiety and uncertainty that can happen in any long-term relationship. The fate of the world is secondary to the fate of one household in Black Bag.

Nonetheless Soderbergh manages to keep the film firmly within the parameters of an entertaining yarn, thanks in large part to a stellar cast that knows exactly what it is doing with the witty, sometimes arch, dialogue at every turn. Fassbender is on his third go as a spy of some sort, following David Fincher's The Killer and television series The Agency, but in Black Bag, he injects his icy professionalism with a warm streak that makes us intuitively understand his bond with Kathryn. For her part, Blanchett is elegant, intimidating and intellectual. They are flawless together (almost as good as George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez in Out of Sight). Watching them navigate their work-life balance makes for a surprisingly good, old-fashioned time at the movies.