Black Bag

Black Bag is a sleek, sharp-witted espionage thriller from director Steven Soderbergh and screenwriter David Koepp, the duo behind Kimi and Presence. Set inside Britain's intelligence establishment, it stars Michael Fassbender as George Woodhouse, a fastidious counterintelligence officer, and Cate Blanchett as his wife Kathryn, a senior agent who may have betrayed her country. The title is spy tradecraft for the secrets a spouse is never obliged to reveal.

When George learns that a devastating cyberweapon has been leaked and that his own wife sits near the top of the suspect list, he invites the likely culprits to a dinner party and quietly laces the food to loosen their tongues. The ensemble — Pierce Brosnan, Marisa Abela, Regé-Jean Page, Tom Burke and Naomie Harris — circle one another through lie-detector tests and elegant dinner-table cruelty, as loyalty to a marriage and loyalty to a country are pitted against each other.

Shot at Pinewood Studios and around London, Black Bag drew some of the strongest reviews of 2025, holding a 96% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and praise for Koepp's tight, talky script and the sheer movie-star wattage of its leads. Though its box office was modest against a reported $50-60 million budget, it was widely hailed as a throwback to the adult, dialogue-driven thriller.