Black Bag's Spy Story Is Top Notch, But As A James Bond Fan, I Have To Highlight One Thing I Loved From This Story

Warning: Spoilers for Black Bag are in play.

Some may consider this period of the 2025 movie schedule a “breather before the big stuff” heading our way in the next couple months. However, I’d say that’s an unfair assessment, despite the numbers of Black Bag’s opening weekend haul not exactly lighting up the world.

If you’re curious whether or not you should see this movie, and want to know my thoughts sans spoilers, our Black Bag review is what you’ll want to consult. However, there’s one spoilery thread of detail that helped me appreciate this film even more, especially as a James Bond movie fan.

So, of course, I have to talk about that; and from this point on things are about to get quite spoiler-y, on top of being rather romantic.

Black Bag’s Spy Based Intrigue Hides A Clever Relationship Dramedy

I really expected director Steven Soderbergh’s latest collaboration with screenwriter David Koepp to be a more dramatically serious espionage thriller. That’s all the trailers really sell to the audience, which may or may not be part of what may have scared off potential viewers; even in light of Black Bag's impressive critical buzz.

But, what if I told you that this movie is actually a really smart and romantic dramedy, which uses a spy caper to help frame that story? While it's bookended by two very eventful dinner parties, Black Bag's hunt for a stolen, government-sanctioned malware is merely a Macguffin that pushes ahead the story.

At the true heart of it all is the supposed struggle George Woodhouse (Michael Fassbender) works through, while investigating a tip that his wife Kathryn St. Jean (Cate Blanchett) could be the culprit. Though none of the characters know who to trust, it’s these married pair of spies who are really running the show.

By the end of this brief and lively adventure, we learn that George was right to implicitly trust Kathryn, who was also running a piece of this mole hunt. And, if you're looking for spoilers on if love wins in the end - it truly does, thanks to Col. James Stokes (Regé-Jean Page) and Arthur Stieglitz (Pierce Brosnan), this film's version of M, being the true enemy.

While we see the other romantic pairings in the mix fall apart through the pressures of the job, our well dressed married couple don’t lose their cool - except when it’s needed to draw out the traitor in their midst. All of which is, for the most part, done by poking at the vulnerabilities of these couplings.

I Totally Dig How George And Kathryn Are The Gomez And Morticia Of MI6

Whether you’re a fan of Dr. No, or some of the best non-Bond spy movies like Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, espionage stories are rarely ever about a happy home life. Even the seemingly baked in analogue of 2005’s Mr. and Mrs. Smith has people comparing Black Bag to that Brad Pitt/Angelina Jolie action-comedy.

But if there's a couple I think George and Kathryn best resemble, it has to be The Addams Family's Gomez and Morticia. Part of that is because they share their mutual profession as the ultimate common interest, as well as an undying loyalty to each other. Their romance is stronger because of that core truth being in play, and much like the Addams couple, they'd kill to protect each other. (And Kathryn actually does!)

Usually being a married spy is something that leads to a tricky double life, like in True Lies or Mission: Impossible III. Even Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy sees the grounded George Smiley (Gary Oldman) eking his way through a relationship on the rocks, as he tries to decipher the hidden agenda within The Circus.

Believe it or not, those are usually the lucky scenarios! As we saw 007’s Christmas adventure, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, landing the devastating ending where James Bond (George Lazenby) sees his wife Tracy (Diana Rigg) gunned down just after he’d retired to say “I Do.”

Black Bag poses the question, “What if a couple of spies were both really into their job, and still loved each other?” I’d say the movie is all the better for that, especially since the moments where Clarissa Dubose (Marisa Abela) is openly flirting with George never yield anything. We deal with the plotline of spies questioning their own fidelity through her boyfriend, Freddie Smalls (Tom Burke), which leaves this new example of couples goals untouched.

The spy action in this Soderbergh/Koepp funhouse is still first rate, don’t get me wrong. However, it was fun to see something like Black Bag loosen up from the image it presents in the marketing, and become even more of a delight to partake in. I would love to see more adventures with George Woodhouse and Kathryn St. Jean, a couple that literally would kill for each other.

But, if this is the only invitation we get to catch up over a little too much wine, and too many secrets, I’m just glad I was able to attend. You can do the same in theaters now, as Black Bag has been unsealed for the viewing public.