The James Bond franchise is one of the longest-running and most widely acclaimed movie series of all time, and it’s inspired countless other spy films and high-stakes thrillers since its conception. Every single James Bond movie offers something new and exciting, with many different actors portraying the character throughout the years and bringing something new to the table. It’s a franchise that’s been able to constantly reinvent itself, which is arguably why it’s stuck around for so long.

There’s an argument to be made that every single spy movie of the past few decades was inspired by James Bond to some extent – or at least by Ian Fleming’s original novels, which popularized the genre for mainstream audiences. However, there are certain movies that wear their influences more proudly than others, directly referencing Bond through their fast-paced narratives and old-fashioned tropes. While the future of James Bond is somewhat unclear, these films all prove that there will always be a place for this timeless hero.

10

Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011)

Directed By Brad Bird

While it’s fair to say that the entire Mission: Impossible franchise was inspired by James Bond on some level, Ghost Protocol is arguably the most obvious example of this. The film marks the fourth entry in this beloved action franchise, taking protagonist Ethan Hunt on a dangerous mission through the Kremlin in search of the tools that will help them prevent a nuclear war. It’s one of the highest-stakes stories in this franchise, and Brad Bird’s fluid direction gives it an extremely unique visual style.

The film borrows a lot of narrative tropes from the James Bond franchise, from its focus on secrets and espionage to the gradual revelation that Hunt is dealing with a force much larger and more complicated than he’s initially led to believe. This is something that happens in countless Bond stories, from Moonraker to Spectre, and it works brilliantly here too.

9

True Lies (1994)

Directed By James Cameron

True Lies is one of James Cameron’s best movies, and while it may not have the epic scope of something like Avatar or the monumental filmmaking of тιтanic, it displays an excellent command of storytelling on a smaller, more intimate level. The story follows Arnold Schwarzenegger’s protagonist, a secret agent in search of missing nuclear warheads, who quickly realizes that his dangerous lifestyle is pulling his marriage apart.

Jamie Lee Curtis gives one of the strongest performances in any of Cameron’s movies in True Lies, which helps ground the story in a more personal dimension instead of running away with the theatrics of the Bond-esque narrative. This is where True Lies really diverges from the macho storytelling of Ian Fleming’s classic hero, but it’s all the better for this slight subversion.

8

The Bourne Idenтιтy (2002)

Directed By Doug Liman

The Bourne Idenтιтy is the first in this long-running franchise that soon became renowned for its similarities to James Bond, and it’s arguably the strongest in the series. Introducing Matt Damon as an undercover spy who’s lost his memories, The Bourne Idenтιтy follows his character as he learns more about where he came from and the mission that he’s supposed to be undertaking.

What’s so interesting about The Bourne Idenтιтy is how effortlessly it flips the spy genre on its head, dismissing the existing tropes where action heroes are totally in control of the story and always come out on top. Jason Bourne is a very flawed character, and for the majority of this narrative, he doesn’t even know who he is. It’s this element of mystery that separates The Bourne Idenтιтy from the Bond movies that inspired it, and it’s a key reason that it remains one of the best Jason Bourne movies.

7

Furious 7 (2015)

Directed By James Wan

Furious 7 is a very unique entry in the Fast & Furious franchise, clearly marking the moment that the series took a bold U-turn and completely changed its existing style. Whereas the previous movies had been more grounded, personal stories about a group of criminals whose thirst for adventure constantly got them into trouble, Furious 7 is much larger in scale and draws inspiration from the Bond movies to transition this franchise into one of explosive action and espionage.

Many audiences took issue with Fast & Furious’ dramatic change of style, arguing that it was no longer about cars and had betrayed the long-term fans that invested themselves in this franchise over a decade prior. While that’s a slight overreaction given the excellent storytelling and memorable set pieces in Furious 7, it certainly became true when the later sequels doubled down on this high-octane, forceful storytelling.

6

Johnny English (2003)

Directed By Peter Howitt

There were countless parodies of the James Bond movies throughout the ‘90s and early 2000s, but Johnny English is the one that best stood the test of time. The story follows the тιтular spy, a brash and confident member of British intelligence, who is ᴀssigned to protect the Crown Jewels after his colleagues are all killed in action. Ironically, the film is a more obvious parody of the original Mission: Impossible – which in turn was inspired by James Bond.

Johnny English leans into the comedic, satirical side of this genre by making fun of the Bond movies and their outdated, often misogynistic tropes. English has all the confidence and bravado of somebody like Bond, but none of the street smarts to make it seem anywhere near as suave. While Daniel Craig played a much darker version of James Bond at the time, Johnny English existed to counteract that and remind audiences of how intrinsically goofy these stories could be.

5

Tenet (2020)

Directed By Christopher Nolan

Christopher Nolan may not initially seem like the kind of director to wear his influences so brashly on his sleeve, but the references to James Bond were used all throughout Tenet’s marketing. The film is an experimental, boundary-pushing thriller that takes the cloak-and-dagger storytelling of James Bond and applies it to a much larger, ambitious world.

Although Tenet wasn’t considered one of Christopher Nolan’s best films upon its release in 2020, the film has aged particularly well in the years since. It features strong performances from John David Washington and Robert Pattinson, whose characters do a great job of explaining this complex world to the audience without making it feel too expository. Nolan’s writing is sharp as ever, and while the film requires a few watches to fully understand, it’s more than worth it.

4

Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014)

Directed By Matthew Vaughn

Another movie that very confidently wears its James Bond influences on its sleeve, the Kingsman franchise is arguably the most successful “parody” of this series that exists. The film uses the melodrama of characters like James Bond as a source of comedy, making its characters much less competent and more relatable as a result.

This first installment in the Kingsman series follows Taron Egerton’s protagonist Eggsy as he’s recruited into a secret organization of British spies who work independently to keep the country safe from external threats. Eggsy’s first mission brings him face-to-face with Samuel L. Jackson’s global terrorist, who plans to wipe out humanity in order to prevent climate change. It’s a very intense and high-stakes story, but it’s always played in a similar way to Johnny English, which manages to poke fun at James Bond through its exaggerated action and witty dialogue.

3

Atomic Blonde (2017)

Directed By David Leitch

Atomic Blonde’s connections to James Bond aren’t as obvious as some other movies, but it’s clearly inspired nonetheless. The film centers around an MI6 spy who is sent on a mission to Berlin shortly in the late ‘80s, where she finds herself searching for a list of mysterious names of global importance.

Atomic Blonde has a great ending that excels at subverting the audience’s expectations, which is something that James Bond has always been great at doing. The journey there is also somewhat familiar: brutal fight sequences, covert operations of total secrecy, and a romantic subplot to tie everything together. It’s a modern twist on the Bond formula, and it works brilliantly,

2

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)

Directed By Tomas Alfredson

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is an adaptation of John le Carré’s original novel – an author whose works have long been compared to those of Ian Fleming. The two authors had very similar styles, and while Fleming’s characters were often more sensationalized while Le Carre favored more grounded stories, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy managed to find the best of both worlds.

The film tells the story of a retired spy who’s summoned by the government to help with a case pertaining to Russian spies inside the British intelligence system. It’s a very slow, methodical story that perfectly lays the framework for what’s to come in its final act, when the story explodes in a thrilling way that’s reminiscent of Bond’s most iconic villain showdowns.

1

Austin Powers: International Man Of Mystery (1997)

Directed By Jay Roach

The Austin Powers movies are filled with iconic quotes and memorable jokes – to the extent that it’s easy to forget just how innovative and subversive they were for the time. These movies were the leading voice in a “James Bond parody” subgenre that became all-too-popular in the late ‘90s, but none of them captured the style quite as effectively as International Man of Mystery.

The film follows Austin Powers, a British spy from the 1960s who’s woken from cryogenic sleep in the 1990s, as he’s forced to battle his old nemesis Dr. Evil one more time. Every single aspect of the film draws from some stereotype of the old James Bond movies, whether it’s the protagonist’s unrequited promiscuity or the hilarious simplicity of Dr. Evil’s comically fallible plots.