Spring quite definitely here. I had a quiet month in April here on Screen-Wolf. I didn’t want to touch Snow white with a barge pole and Minecraft seemed more meme than movie. May is likely going to be quiet too. However, I’ve still got a few recent releases to look at. These are all pretty entertaining and just goes to show what you can find when you look under the surface. So let’s crack on with it!
Black Bag
“Black Bag” (2025) is the latest movie from director Steven Soderbergh and writer David Koepp. Soderbergh is what I would call a reliable mid-tier director. His movies are usually good, but not exceptional and while he has some misses he doesn’t have any major clangers to his name. Koepp meanwhile has credits to some exceptional movies along with a couple of clangers (The last two Indiana Jones movies). The pair have worked together previously on “Kimi” (2022) and “Presence” (2024). Soderbergh regular David Holmes provides the music and Soderbergh takes cinematography and editing duties (Under aliases). Michael Fassbender takes the lead role, with Cate Blanchette as primary support.
The plot involves a conspiracy within the British intelligence community. Lead by a directive to find a traitor that may have compromised a top secret project known Cerberus, George Woodhouse (Fassbender) is given a list of suspects and the task of determining who the traitor is. The big catch is that one of the suspects is his own wife Kathryn St. Jean (Blanchett), also a high ranking intelligence officer. As Woodhouse digs into the conspiracy he finds out that a more complex game may be being played. The game will test not just his skills in determining the truth but also test the strength of his relationship with his wife.
We’re Going to Play a Game
This is a pretty unique spy drama. There’s almost no action here, so don’t expect James Bond. This is all about the deception and about the characters. The first act largely plays out like a strangers in a room play as Woodhouse invites all the suspects around for a dinner party, where he cunningly stirs the pot encouraging conflict within the group. It’s a pretty good act in itself but it also gives us a great introduction to the characters and gets us straight in to the game of trying to figure out who the traitor is. Unfortunately when all is revealed at the end it’s not really something anyone would have likely guessed, but it still makes for an interesting first act.
After a purely character based first act, we move in to a far more plot based middle act which seems most of the actual events of the story play out before returning once again to a more contained final act. These two acts play out a lot like a murder mystery, with all the players returned the dinner table for a final “Game” where the murderer is revealed. By the end of the film they are literally a murderer too so it is basically a murder mystery within the setting of the British secret service. The spy stuff is all basically in the middle act, but it’s still very much a character based, dialogue heavy story.
Conclusion
Your millage will likely vary depending on expectations. If you want action you will be very disappointed. You may also be a little disappointed if you want a complex mystery with twists and turns, as it’s not really the mystery that makes this film. If however you like a group of interesting characters having conversations and playing psychological games with each other through conversation then you are on to a winner. That is the vast majority of the film. But it is also about how a husband and wife who’s careers are based on lies and deceit find a way to make their relationship work. So it’s a romance too. Personally, I enjoyed the film. This is a high 6.5/10 and a recommendation.
Working Man
Working Man (2025), is the latest in what appears to be a growing partnership between director David Ayer and action star Jason Statham. The pair had a solid amount of success last year with The Beekeeper (2024) and clearly work well together. This is an adaptation of legendary comic book writer Chuck Dixon’s novel “Levon’s Trade”, the first of a series of novels following the character “Levon Cade” (Played here by Statham). Potentially, given the reasonable level of success Statham could return to this character several times over. Interestingly Sylverster Stalone is also involved in both this movies script and it’s production. Shawn White provides cinematography and Jared Michael Fry provides the music. Statham is supported by Arianna Rivas, Jason Flemyng, Merab Ninidze, Eve Mauro and Emmett J. Scanlan.
The story folllows Levon Cade is a former Royal Marine ex commando that specialized in counter-terrorism. Now retired from that life and working as a construction foreman, while fighting for custody of his daughter “Merry” (Isla Gie). When his bosses daughter, “Jenny” (Arianna Rivas), is kidnapped, Cade is asked to find her. The apparently random kidnapping leads him to the trail of a rogue son of a Russian Mob family. However tangling with the Russian Mafia is never simple and creates a situation that puts not just him at risk, but also his own daughter.
Hard Boiled Action
This is a movie that definitely feels like something based on a novel written by a comic book writer. I don’t mean that as a negative, it’s just that each character is a lot more colourful and over the top than you would expect in this kind of movie. But while the comic influences are there, the plot is more complicated than you would expect if it was a comic being adapted and not a novel. The movie feels like what you would get if you took Philip Marlowe, mixed with him Rambo and moved him to a modern day version of Batman’s Gotham. Given the involvement of not just Chuck Dixon, but also Sylvester Stallone this is pretty much what I would expect.
The question is, does it work? Well… Mostly. It has a lot of charm and feels relatively unique despite being a Jason Statham action movie. However, the plot seems to feel both more complicated than it needed to be and also a little rushed. It also suffers from what has become a standard Jason Statham issue. Namely, you never once feel he is actually in any danger. This was the same issue I had with The Beekeeper last year. Fortunately here there are still stakes thanks to situation of the daughter and that part of our story does keep you on edge. The action scenes themselves are pretty satisfying and there are plenty of them.
Conclusion
Ultimately this is an entertaining movie, but one that will likely be forgotten in the years to come. Lost in the vast sea of Statham action movies. Though a lot may depend on if Statham does revisit the character or not. Compared to the Beekeeper this is slightly weaker but I still had a good time with the movie and it is a recommendation. If you like action films you can’t go too far wrong with this. 6/10
Locked
Trapped is, excuse the pun, a vehicle for actor Bill Skarsgård, with the vast majority of the film taking place inside a car. Directed by James Gunn protégée David Yarovesky, and produced by Sam Raimi. Locked is an American remake of the Argentinian film “4×4” from 2019. Michael Dallatorre provides cinematography and the music is scored by Tim Williams. Bill Skarsgård is supported almost entirely by Anthony Hopkins. There are other actors, but there roles are tiny compared to Bill and Anthony, with the latter only on screen in the final act.
Eddie (Skarsgård) is struggling to make ends meet. He can’t even afford to have his van repaired so he can pick up his daughter. As a result he starts a run of petty thefts. This culminates in breaking in to an unlocked “Dolus Luxury SUV” to steal any valuables inside. After coming up empty though, he finds he cannot get out of the car and so he attempts to force his way out, even shooting at the windscreen. The car however is bulletproof and his shot ricochets and hits him in the leg. Bleeding and out of desperation he answers the call from “Answer Me” on the cars terminal. He is greeted by “William” (Hopkins), the owner of the car. William has decided to punish Eddie for his transgression. He is in the wrong place at the wrong time, but this is about to get very personal.
I’ve not seen the original movie, so can’t compare quality. However I have read the plot, so I know there are significant changes. The most significant is that Eddie, has very much had the Hollywood treatment to make him a sympathetic and redeemable character. In the Argentinian version, the thief “Ciro” has killed several people, usually during robberies. Eddie however is good at heart and while he is down on his luck and resorting to theft he is not a killer. In my view this makes the story a little less interesting, since there is no debate on if he deserves this kind of treatment. Instead William is portrayed as a touch psychotic and despite his trauma, very much in the wrong. It’s a shame to lose the gray morality.
What we do have going for the Hollywood version though are two very fine actors. Good job, because without that this kind of movie would collapse. A guy trapped in a car for an hour and a half could be quite tedious after all. Not here. The dialogue could perhaps be a little sharper but it’s fine. The run time helps too here as does the addition of a spot more action. Including a tense scene where William’s remote control of the car takes his abuse of Eddie to a whole new level. In places it is edge of the seat stuff.
Conclusion
This is a straight forward premise, well played out in a timely manner but lacking a lot of the morally grey arguments presented in the Argentinian original. It is however a compelling and relatively original 90 minute movie. As a vehicle for Skarsgård it won’t do his career any harm even if it doesn’t quite know where to park itself for much of the film, suffice to say your mileage may vary. Yes all those puns were intentional. I’ll get my hat. But before that I’m giving this a 6/10. See you next time!