What's stuffed inside 'Black Bag?'

YOU know those party games where you try to figure out who the "killer" is in a group? The game could be a variation of "One Night Ultimate Werewolf," "Among Us" or those Murder Mystery sets you order. "Black Bag" is a bit like that.

Michael Fassbender and Cate Blanchett are husband and wife George Woodhouse and Kathryn St. Jean in ‘Black Bag.’ PHOTO COURTESY OF UNIVERSAL PICTURES

George Woodhouse (Michael Fassbender) is a veteran agent who is particularly sharp when it comes to recognizing lies. The film opens with him meet-ing an operative named Meachem, who warns him of a traitor among his cohorts at the National Cybersecurity Center. Imagine a job where the fate of the world is in your hands every single day.

Whoever this traitor is, he or she is looking to cut a deal involving a McGuffin called "Severus" — potentially dangerous malware that could sabotage nuclear facilities and upend geopolitics. In the real world, Trump's already done that.

Could the rat in the agency be the rising-up-the ranks Colonel James Stokes (Regé-Jean Page), agency therapist Zoe Vaughn (Naomie Harris), passed for promotion agent Freddie Smalls (Tom Burke), data expert Clarissa Dubose (Marisa Abela) or could it actually be seasoned field agent Kathryn St. Jean (Cate Blanchett) — who also happens to be George's beloved wife?

Don't expect chase scenes across narrow streets in exotic locations or look for set pieces like a pursuit and fight with goons while inside and on top of a speeding train. That's good news. This is a spy movie with — gasp — nonstop lying, scheming, sleuthing and actual spying. Thankfully it's the dialogue and not the cars that's fast and furious.

"Black Bag" is so cerebral, if you get up to go to the bathroom, you're likely to miss out on juicy dialogue that'll offer clues and insights into the relationships and sex lives of the bunch. If you're watching in a cinema, that means you don't have a pause or rewind button; you will need to pay close attention and keep up. The dinner party and the polygraph test scene are particularly brilliant, the cast just flies with the lines courtesy of screenplay writer and (director) Steven Soderbergh collaborator du jour, David Koepp.

Pierce Brosnan is also in this, as the agency chief Arthur Stieglitz. It's fun to see a former James Bond work with the cur-rent Moneypenny (Harris) and two actors whose names have been thrown around for the part of the new James Bond (Page and Fassbender).

In the meantime, Marvel changed the title of its newest release, "Thunderbolts*" to "The New Avengers" and "Sinners" is still out in cinemas here and will return to selected IMAX theaters in the United States on May 16.

"Sinners" continues to be the best film I've seen this year and I hope it continues to attract repeat business and new audi-ences as well as earn Oscar nominations.