"Black Bag" is One of the Sexiest Movies of 2025 (So Far), But Not in the Way You're Expecting

Last year, Luca Guadagnino's "Challengers" was a cultural sensation that made even bigger stars out of Mike Faist, Josh O'Connor and Zendaya, whose glow you can practically see from outer space. It transforms a tennis match into an emotional battleground in which its central players are swatting their rackets in a pocket universe known only to them and the woman who holds their fates in her hands. The film got to the heart of watching beautiful people doing movie star things, like getting in a messy tennis triad. What made "Challengers" so great is that it was also one of the year's sexiest movies. The kicker is that it doesn't feature a single sex scene, but the film is so sweaty and electric that its very existence takes on the act itself. I've noticed an increasing trend among some people that don't see the value in portraying intimacy on screen as they don't believe it makes any impact toward the film. In addition to being objectively wrong about that notion, that kind of viewpoint reveals a stunning misunderstanding of the medium as a whole. Movies like "Challengers" and, in this case, "Black Bag" are proof that sex is inherently baked into the art of film language itself. On its surface, "Black Bag" is a lean and sleek spy thriller involving the disappearance of a highly classified software called Severus. Six parties, all of whom work at MI6, are suspected as culprits. The onus falls upon intelligence officer George Woodhouse (Michael Fassbender) to lead the secret mole hunt, poking and prodding until he finds something useful. Locating Severus becomes only that much harder when George learns up front that his wife and fellow agent Kathryn St. Jean (Cate Blanchett) could possibly be involved. In almost any other spy movie, the device is what moves the story along, whether it physically plays an important role or not. The entirety of "Mission: Impossible III" stresses how imperative it is that the Rabbit's Foot doesn't fall into the hands of a ruthless arms dealer, yet we never learn what it is exactly. While "Black Bag" provides a more valuable insight into the MacGuffin that gets everyone settled into their places, the most important stuff is happening in the pursuit. I wrote about Steven Soderbergh's "Presence" a few months back, where I praised its ability to imbue a greater meaning within its perspective gimmick. The ghost never audibly speaks, but it does so visually. It comes across so well because Soderbergh is an experimenter at heart who can make movies about a certain thing and it'll only take a modicum of digging to see that they're about something else. It figures that his next film, which was released within a three-month span and also penned by screenwriter David Koepp, would deliver a spy movie through the prism of a cheeky relationship potboiler that's equally thrilling, hilarious and sexy. "Black Bag" is one big roleplay session in which all its suspects are screwing each other in some fashion. The voyeuristic Kathryn is almost too great at her job, and she's enticed by keeping people on their toes as to where she lies, while her husband George is a more methodical man who's a romantic at heart. He'll lie but not to her, and she'll lie but only if she must. The signs of a "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" conflict that's also a thinly veiled metaphor for their passionate love affair are all there, but Soderbergh takes a much more interesting path. Coming in at a tight 93 minutes, "Black Bag" wastes no time getting everyone in a room together. What better way to gain some intel on who's a secret traitor than by throwing a dinner party in which the food is laced with truth serum, unbeknownst to everyone except George. On one side of the table is Clarissa Dubose (Marisa Abela), a young analyst with a penchant for playing dangerous games — and having fun while doing it. Managing Agent Freddie Smalls (Tom Burke) is her older dinner date and a temperamental one at that. Across the dinner table is Dr. Zoe Vaughn (Naomie Harris), the agency's therapist everyone is mandated to see. She's also into erotic fiction, which may or may not be informed by her Catholic guilt. The doctor's date is Col. James Stokes (Regé-Jean Page), another fellow Managing Agent who puts on a different face when his illusion of masculinity is targeted. The term "black bag" is their code word for highly confidential information that they don't have clearance to share with anyone else — and in the case of this film, there sure are a bunch among this group. Abela is the standout as she relishes playing with fire, knowing that the burn will probably feel good. Polygraph tests are just as arousing as bondage gear, if not more so given her body language. She's one of the few that's able to pierce through the veil that's still blinding the rest of the group. Sex is baked into the concept of "Black Bag" from the get-go. When George gets his assignment, Agent Philip Meechum (Gustaf Skarsgård), a married man, is seen schmoozing with two girls in a club. It provides the context for the mission and the unraveling it will ultimately bring about. Like the film's most important questions, the answers are almost always in plain sight if you know where to look. Early on, a character gets stabbed in the hand with a fork, but rather than playing up the dramatism of it, the stabbed responds back with, "That is the most boring thing you've ever done." It's so playful. A sultry dominant, a calculated partner, a kinky youth, a defensive older partner, a beautiful bad sport and a mind reader in denial make up an ensemble where every character builds a new relationship among the cast. Little more than a kiss shared at any given time, but the sexual tension is always present. "Black Bag" demonstrates the perils and risk-seeking fun of professional liars fooling around with other liars, all while underscored by the jazzy beats of composer David Holmes. At one point, Kathryn asks, "Won't there be a mess to clean up?" Yes. Yes, there will be. Put this on as your movie for date night and thank me later. "Black Bag" is currently streaming on Peacock.