When intelligence agent Kathryn Woodhouse is suspected of betraying the nation, her husband - also a legendary agent - faces the ultimate test of whether to be loyal to his marriage, or his ... Read allWhen intelligence agent Kathryn Woodhouse is suspected of betraying the nation, her husband - also a legendary agent - faces the ultimate test of whether to be loyal to his marriage, or his country.When intelligence agent Kathryn Woodhouse is suspected of betraying the nation, her husband - also a legendary agent - faces the ultimate test of whether to be loyal to his marriage, or his country.
- Awards
- 2 wins & 15 nominations total
- Vadim Pavlichuk
- (as Dan Dow)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
The film feels stylish and polished despite its small scale and brief running time. Soderbergh's deft direction keeps things running quickly and efficiently, paying special attention to the psychological and intuitive motives of the characters. The plot developments aren't particularly unique compared to other spy films, which is what holds back "Black Bag" from being truly great, but its commitment to creating intriguing narrative tension in an entertaining way and at a small scale is commendable. Recommended. 7/10.
It was advertised as a spy thing but it had no excitement to it at all.
A huge waste of money and really put me off going to the cinema ever again.
Honestly, why are they all speaking in that affected posh accent and why are they are speaking so quietly? What was the audio mixer thinking?
It definitely needs closed captions because it was actually impossible and maddening and irritating to watch. I am so disappointed.
They should all be ashamed of themselves. Also, all the characters are incredibly hateable. I hated them all so much!
Save your money! Don't go to see it.
TLDR: Atrocious audio, dialogue, soundtrack and all mumbling. Absolutely awful acting in hushed tones. Horrible weird jazz soundtrack which is basically so rare it's almost no soundtrack.
There are a few effective action set pieces to keep viewers awake ( not my wife, unfortunately, she slept through most of it ) but not really enough, I'm guessing, to satisfy the action fans.
For film fans who try to see everything that opens in cinemas, only.
All of the assembled cast do a sufficient job in delivering a very talky script. I especially liked Michael Fassbender's concise and measured performance as the spy ordered to get to the bottom of a leaked top secret software program that could jeopardise national security where his wife, Cate Blanchett, is one of the suspects.
For me Soderbergh never quite scratches my itch when he attempts to do 'cool' like he did with the Ocean trilogy. There's a cold aloofness that prevents me as a viewer to get completely wrapped up in the story he is trying to tell. Also with Black Bag I wasn't keen on the cinematography which looked like a creative decision to make most light sources seem diffused, presumably to make this look like an old fashioned espionage thriller from the 1960's. Fassbenders character certainly has shades of Harry Palmer to him, especially wearing those trademark black glasses.
Despite it being talky and smart it's not that taut and I would like to have seen a bit more action and a few surprise twists for there to be a better payoff for all the concentration the viewer has to endure to get to a rather mediocre finale.
Theatrical Releases You Can Stream or Rent
Theatrical Releases You Can Stream or Rent
Soundtrack
Did you know
- TriviaThe film's writer David Koepp said of the meaning of the movie's "Black Bag" title: "I sort of made that up because I thought it sounded cool. There was a film producer who I knew in New York who would say, 'That goes in the black bag', whenever he got something bad or negative that he didn't like. You throw it in the black bag, then you throw the bag in the river and never see it again. I like that as a metaphor for where things go that are never going to be discussed. I re-purposed it as a piece of spy slang that doesn't actually exist - but maybe it should."
- GoofsWhen the movie ticket stub is seen in the trash, it has the date "WED 02 MARCH 2024" printed on it. However, in the following closeup shot, when George is holding the ticket, the prop has been altered, and the year has been removed, so it just says "WED 02 MARCH"
- Quotes
George Woodhouse: If she's in trouble, even of her own making, I will do everything in my power to extricate her. No matter what that means. You understand?
Clarissa Dubose: My god, that's so hot.
- Crazy creditsActress Alicia Vikander, the wife of the film's leading man, Michael Fassbender, who plays George Woodhouse, made a playlist that was used in the film. She was billed for this in the closing credits as "DJ Vicarious". In 2020, Vikander with her agent founded a production company called "Vikarious".
- ConnectionsFeatured in Designing Black Bag (2025)
- SoundtracksPolyrhythmic
Performed by Phil Kieran & Thomas Annang (as Thomas Tettey Annang)
Written by Phil Kieran
Licensed by Phil Kieran
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official sites
- Languages
- Also known as
- Código Negro
- Filming locations
- Hotel Storchen, Weinplatz, Zürich, Kanton Zürich, Switzerland(exterior: Kathryn has meeting outside hotel)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $50,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $21,474,035
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $7,607,250
- Mar 16, 2025
- Gross worldwide
- $43,887,905
- Runtime
- 1h 33m(93 min)
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1






