Black Bag (M) - 93 minutes

British intelligence is under the microscope in Black Bag.

George Woodhouse (Michael Fassbender) is an elite operative at Britain’s closely guarded National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).

He can’t stand liars. He seeks them out an exposes them. That has included his own father.

Now there appears to be a mole in the ranks of the NCSC.

Woodhouse is tasked with uncovering that infiltrator before they can activate a destructive cyber worm called Severus. That malware can destabilise a nuclear facility.

There are five suspects.

They include his beloved wife Kathryn St Jean (Cate Blanchett), who is one of the organisation’s most powerful and trusted agents.

In fact, Kathryn is George’s one big weakness.

Also in the mix is Freddie Smalls (Tom Burke), an inveterate womaniser, who has been with fellow younger operative, tech whiz Clarissa Dubose (Marisa Abela) for 18 months.

In turn, she has a penchant for older men.

And then there is agency psychologist Dr Zoe Vaughan (Naomie Harris), who enjoys erotic fiction.

She has been getting up close and personal with an NCSC rising star, Colonel James Stokes (Rege-Jean Page).

Woodhouse’s first salvo to get to the truth comes via a dinner invitation to the quintet (in which he does the cooking and adds a little something extra).

Once lips are loosened, he asks each to participate in a game in which they are charged with making a resolution for the person sitting to their right. That sparks the first in a series of revelations.

Much later in the movie, there will also be a lie detector test.

Black Bag is a most sophisticated and tense spy thriller, in which the identity of the rat remains well disguised.

In other words, getting to the heart of the truth is no walk in the park.

It has been well conceived, written, acted and directed. Steven Soderbergh proves yet again what a master filmmaker he is.

For the third time, he has teamed up with writer David Koepp. They also worked together on Presence (2024) and Kimi (2022).

The characters are all smart people trying to outsmart each other.

Michael Fassbender is perfectly cast in a straight as a die role, which requires his intellectual prowess to shine.

Koepp has exploited the quirks, peccadilloes and vulnerabilities of the players in this one, weaving a twisted tale.

The focus moves from one to another.

Tom Burke is another standout as a dedicated agent, whose predilections make him susceptible … and on it goes.

There is a wickedly twisted playful streak about Marisa Abela (Back to Black) as Clarissa Dubose, while Cate Blanchett plays Kathryn St Jean with a sense of entitlement.

And Pierce Brosnan pops up with a confident air as agency head Arthur Stieglitz.

In fact, one of the traits that characterises all is self-belief.

I was also attracted to the musical choices by David Holmes that accompanied this cat and mouse concoction.

Incidentally, according to the International Spy Museum in Washington DC, the term Black Bag refers to secret entry to steal or copy materials.

Black Bag, the movie, undoubtedly hits the right notes (it’s a beauty) and keeps you guessing.

Rated M, it scores an 8 out of 10.