Sexy, Fun, and Sophisticated: Black Bag Movie Review

BLACK BAG

(15) 94mins

★★★★☆

This MI6 spy thriller features one former James Bond, one almost Bond, and another potential one. It even has a former Miss Moneypenny actress thrown in for good luck. Former 007 actor Pierce Brosnan is in charge of a British secret service team, which fears one of five operatives is betraying the nation and committing treason. Michael Fassbender is George Woodhouse, who has been tasked with discovering the identity of the "rat".

Gives him daggers

George invites the other four suspects round to their sumptuous London home for dinner, lacing the meal with a truth drug. In a brilliantly funny scene, Dr Vaughan (played by Naomie Harris, who stars as Miss Moneypenny in the Bond franchise) tells lover James (Rege-Jean Page) what she really thinks of him. So does Clarissa (Marisa Abela) to her heavy-drinker boyfriend Freddie (Tom Burke). And Clarissa quite literally gives him daggers, too. In a sizzling bedroom scene afterwards, George tells Kathryn he would kill for her. Director Steven Soderbergh keeps the audience guessing about the identity of the traitor right up until the end.

If Amazon wants the next 007 to be sexy, fun, and sophisticated, Soderbergh would be a great choice to direct because he has more than proved himself on this and the Ocean’s films. Although, Black Bag lacks the requisite stunts and big action scenes. Irishman Fassbender would have been perfect for Bond, because he is a great actor with loads of charisma. Sadly, at the age of 47, it is probably too late for his licence to kill. Here, the fictional spy he channels is Michael Caine’s Harry Palmer from 1965’s The Ipcress File, with his turtleneck sweater and precise manner.

IN THE LOST LANDS

(15) 101mins

★★☆☆☆

MILLA JOVOVICH and her director hubby Paul W S Anderson have teamed up again for yet more post-apocalyptic action. If you’ve seen the pair’s Resident Evil movies, you’ll know what you are getting – lots of Mad Max-style chase scenes through horrorscapes, often filmed in monochrome. Adapted from a George RR Martin short story, this is classic fantasy material. Milla plays the "witch" Gray Alys, tasked with taking the powers of a werewolf that lives in the Lost Lands. Gray employs the talents of snake-wielding outsider Boyce (Dave Bautista) to help with her quest.

The stilted dialogue between them goes something like this: "Where does this man live?" Answer: "In a place called Skull River." Pursuing them are a bunch of religious zealots like something out of the crusades, travelling in a steampunk train. To be honest, this really isn’t my cup of tea. But it is better than some of the later Resident Evil movies. In The Lost Lands finds its way whenever there is action, but the talking bits are best forgotten.

THE ELECTRIC STATE

(PG-13) 128mins

★★★☆☆

PREPARATION for this comedy sci-fi action movie couldn’t have been much of a stretch for Millie Bobby Brown and Chris Pratt. Their characters are pretty much like every other project they’ve been in. Stranger Things’ Millie is the rebellious Michelle, Pratt is wisecracking wheeler-dealer Keats. Pratt, in Guardians Of The Galaxy mode, tells Michelle "stick around long enough, I will let you down" as they search for her brother, and Millie channels Eleven-style rage at every opportunity. Sadly, Stanley Tucci, as evil tech entrepreneur Ethan Skate, has all the menace of a toaster.

It is the robots that are the stars of this big-budget Netflix movie set in an alternate version of Earth. They are mainly cute and cheerful characters, such as the smiley-faced Cosmo, who befriends Michelle and Mr Peanut (voiced by Woody Harrelson) who led a bot revolution. The computer-generated imagery is top-notch and there is plenty of fun Nineties nostalgia, such as Billy Bass singing fish. But all the gadgets in the world couldn’t give The Electric State what it needs – heart.