The spy genre offers a diverse range of exciting, harrowing, and sometimes hilarious movies, but there are some that will always be crowd-pleasers. Often pulled from the pages of brilliant novels, movies in the spy genre blend action with intrigue as the heroes must use cunning to outsmart their foes. Spy stories also usually work in compelling mysteries too.
Spy films can be as broad and sweeping as international espionage, or as small-scale as interpersonal urban paranoia, but they are almost always a thrilling adventure. The genre has produced its fair share of franchises too, and there are notable spies like James Bond that are an important part of the fabric of film history.
Like any other major genre in film, the best spy movies often reflect the fears and anxieties of their day, and can be inspired by real-world events. Conversely, there is an imaginative aspect to the genre that exaggerates real-life scenarios into bombastic action.
Plenty of spy movies have graced the silver screen over the decades, but only a select few manage to stand head and shoulders above the rest. Even if they aren’t superior films in general, some spy movies are the perfect introduction to the genre because they capture the essence of what makes it so good in the first place.
10
The Spy Who Came In From The Cold (1965)
A Dark Alternative To The James Bond Series
Author John le Carré has had perhaps the biggest impact on the spy genre, and his novels have often been adapted into hit movies. 1965’s The Spy Who Came In From the Cold is one of his most brilliant adaptations, and it offered a dark alternative to the popular James Bond movies coming out in the ’60s.
Dreary, twisting, and surprising right up to the very end, The Spy Who Came In From the Cold is quintessential international espionage from the height of the Cold War. Richard Burton’s performance in the lead role is one of his best, and the filmmaking hearkens back to classic film noir with its dark shadows and black-and-white pH๏τography.
9
Burn After Reading (2008)
The Coen Brothers Enter The World Of Spies
Burn After Reading continued the Coen brothers’ trend of taking silly and dimwitted characters and putting them in situations they aren’t equipped to handle. Brad Pitt and Frances McDormand star as two gym employees who try to blackmail various government agencies with what they think is sensitive information. The movie’s humor comes from the sheer absurdity of its premise.
The stakes are low compared to other spy classics, but the outlandish humor is a nice change of pace from more dour films.
Unlike other spy movies which portray the various intelligence organizations as dark and mysterious, Burn After Reading humanizes the world of espionage. The stakes are low compared to other spy classics, but the outlandish humor is a nice change of pace from more dour films.
8
The Bourne Supremacy (2004)
The Second Film In The Epic Bourne Series
Though The Bourne Supremacy is the direct sequel to 2002’s The Bourne Idenтιтy, it’s a better introduction to the series and spy films in general. Matt Damon returns as the eponymous CIA ᴀssᴀssin with memory problems as he continues to learn the truth about his past.
The Bourne Supremacy grossed over $290 million (via Box Office Mojo),
Director Paul Greengrᴀss brings his journalistic style to the filmmaking, and it gives the second Bourne movie a realistic look. The series is known for its over-the-top action sequences, and Supremacy is the most exhilarating of the bunch. The stuntwork alone makes the movie worth watching, but the spy thriller plot is compelling too.
7
Three Days Of The Condor (1973)
The Quintessential Watergate-Era Spy Movie
Spy movies in the ’60s highlighted the Cold War, but in the wake of the Watergate scandal, the genre took a different tack. Three Days of the Condor is an engrossing thriller that casts Robert Redford as a CIA employee at the heart of a government-wide conspiracy. Paranoia is the movie’s biggest theme, and it creeps into the viewing experience.
Instead of promoting the moral objectives of the U.S. government like older spy movies, Three Days of the Condor reflects the distrust of insтιтutions that ran rampant in the early ’70s. The spy isn’t fighting some threat from abroad, but a villainous betrayal that has come from within his own ranks.
6
Our Man Flint (1966)
One Of The Earliest Spy Comedies
Almost as soon as the James Bond film series cemented the look of the ’60s spy movie, Our Man Flint came along to poke fun at the whole thing. Borrowing a plot that sounds like it could come from one of Ian Flemming’s novels, Flint is a superspy who is infinitely popular with the ladies.
Though the film is very much a comedy, Our Man Flint still feels a lot like a classic Bond movie, and has some interesting action sequences. The jokes are zany and off the wall, but they are also clever parodies without getting too ridiculous. A sequel followed the next year but was not nearly as well-received.
5
Saboteur (1942)
Alfred Hitchcock’s WWII Spy Thriller
Saboteur is yet another Alfred Hitchcock movie with a man who is wrongfully accused at the center of the story, but it’s also a compelling WWII spy story. Accused of attempting to sabotage the American war effort, an average factory worker goes on a daring quest to prove his innocence and nab the real culprit.
the scope of WWII makes the movie feel grand even as it plays out on a smaller scale
While not as well-formed as later spy stories, Saboteur is a great early example of the genre before organizations like the CIA were integrated into the American government. The added angle of patriotism is a nice touch, and the scope of WWII makes the movie feel grand even as it plays out on a smaller scale.
4
Austin Powers: International Man Of Mystery (1997)
Mike Myers Takes On The Spy Genre With His Own Groovy Hero
It’s difficult to overstate the cultural impact that 1997’s Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery had in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Mike Myers’ spy parody invented a humorous world all its own, and the film brilliantly pokes fun at spy cliches as well as other contemporary movies.
|
Austin Powers Movie |
Release Year |
Rotten Tomatoes Score |
|---|---|---|
|
Austin Power: International Man of Mystery |
1997 |
73% |
|
Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me |
1999 |
53% |
|
Austin Powers in Goldmember |
2002 |
52% |
Specifically lampooning the tone and style of 1960s spy movies, Austin Powers took aim at James Bond but also made fun of the ripoffs as well. Even as the aforementioned spy franchise was at a low point, the Austin Powers movies arrived to fill the void and perhaps even push Bond into the darker direction he’d take under Daniel Craig.
3
Mission: Impossible (1996)
Tom Cruise’s Epic Spy Series
Based on the ’60s TV show of the same name, Mission: Impossible launched a cinematic franchise that’s still going into the 2020s. Tom Cruise plays superspy Ethan Hunt as he tries to take on his own government in order to prove his innocence. Putting its emphasis on action, Mission: Impossible began a new era for spy movies.
What makes the film so brilliant is that it deftly mixes superspy technology with brute-force action, and Tom Cruise again proved himself to be a strong movie hero. Unlike other decades-long franchises, Mission: Impossible has had more high points than lows, and managed to adjust with the times.
2
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)
A Classic Spy Story With A Modern Sensibility
2011’s Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy was not the first time that John le Carré’s novel had been adapted, but the Gary Oldman movie left a mark on the classic piece of spy literature. Instead of modernizing the setting, the movie is a period thriller that takes place during the Cold War in the ’70s.
The spy drama is a тιԍнтly-paced and visually exciting piece of cinema that relies mostly on the strong performances of its lead actors. Even as the spy genre pushed in a more action-oriented direction, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy proved that a well-written story can be just as exciting.
1
Goldfinger (1964)
The Classic James Bond Movie That Changed Spy Films Forever
The James Bond series was already two movies deep when Sean Connery reprised his role in Goldfinger, but the threequel changed spy movies forever. With its fast-paced story, humorous tone, and top-notch musical score, Goldfinger rewrote the book on what a spy movie was supposed to look like.
The action sequences were bombastic and exciting, and Bond began to move away from the more grounded adventures of the first two films. Subsequent spy movies would borrow heavily from the 1964 gem, and even the Bond franchise would rarely reach the bar that Goldfinger set.
