Spy games: Michael Fassbender in ‘Black Bag’.

BLACK BAG **1/2 (93 minutes) M
How annoying it must be for a taciturn intelligence officer to be told his beloved wife might just be a traitor to King and Country. On top of that, it’s his job to quietly investigate her, a doubly tough gig given she works in the same office.

That’s the toughie faced by George Woodhouse (Michael Fassbender) who has to suss out whether his good lady Kathryn St. Jean (Cate Blanchett) is what his spy bosses think she is. He’s also got a circle of colleagues he needs to surreptitiously probe, a prickly situation that justifies a dinner gathering, a testy occasion that occupies the first stretch of this low-wattage espionage thriller.

What’s at stake is the potential leaking of information that might cost the lives of millions and cause international chaos.

With nerd glasses and a steely, laconic manner, Fassbender is impressive as he manages to paper over his inner emotional conflict with a patriotic veneer of professionalism. Blanchett is good as ever, her specialty of the moment being to stand out in underwhelming films. There’s also strong support from Tom Burke, Naomie Harris and the ever-reliable Pierce Brosnan as their crusty section head.

Priding itself on its glossy, high-tech look, its a fine yarn, though all the talk and twisty-turny plot sometimes stumbles over basic story points.

For a genre piece that dearly wants to be seen as a brainy, intricately plotted, tightly wound John le Carre-esque thriller, director Steven Soderbergh and writer David Koepp let some gaping story holes and puzzling moves through to the keeper, all of which will be picked up by cluey viewers who are paying the level of attention the film invites, but can’t quite hold up to.