Cate Blanchett & Michael Fassbender play married spies (that tired trope). When he’s informed that there’s a mole in their small group of associates, his wife is identified as the potential leak and must be killed. Thus begins their meandering quest for the truth. This is not a spy thriller or even a spy adventure. It’s a spy talker. Almost every scene is played out by people sitting and discussing their issues and interactions. This gets pretty tiresome, esp. with the early dinner scene that seems interminable. Actually, much of the movie tries viewer patience without payoff. Fassbender plays it steely and flat, while Blanchett embodies a sensual, suspicious character. Steven Soderbergh, who directed shot and edited, seems to love shooting in available light, which often renders eyes hard to see. His direction focuses on the performances, but the script is just too verbose and the plot revelations are stacked in the final scene, eliminating any potential surprise. This film is tediously talky. BTW, I was never actually sure what the Black Bag was. 
(2 / 5)
