Summary

• For fans of James Bond looking for similar spy movies, Tenet is a must-watch with a stellar cast and thrilling time-travel plot.
• Salt, with Angelina Jolie as a betrayed CIA agent, offers gripping Cold War thrills reminiscent of early Bond movies.
• Our Kind of Traitor provides a grounded and captivating spy story, ideal for those seeking an amateur couple in a dangerous spy world.

Movies like James Bond offer fans a look at super spies, espionage, and world-threatening situations. James Bond is one of the most iconic movie characters of all time, a super spy who has been a huge box office draw for well over 50 years. As a result of this, Bond movies have also formed the basis for not only other serious adaptations of spy novels but parodies of the genre. With so many movies directly inspired by the series, fans searching to find movies like James Bond’s adventures discover that it’s not hard to find.

The release of No Time to Die closed out the highly-acclaimed Daniel Craig era of Bond movies, leaving many longtime fans of the franchise pumped up for more spy movie thrills even though the role has yet to be recast and a new installment is still very far away on the horizon. Now more than ever is the time for 007 fans to be looking to the past for some of the great movies that have inspired the Bond franchise as well as the thrillers that have taken inspiration from it.

15 Tenet (2020)

A Sci-Fi Time-Travel Movie Like James Bond

Tenet is a must-watch for fans of the Craig era of 007 films, despite the far heavier science-fiction elements of its plot. The movie stars John David Washington as a secret agent who is tasked with saving the future from an arms dealer who is using time manipulation to carry out his villainous plot. The movie also features a stellar cast including Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debecki, and Kenneth Branagh.

Tenet
is the closest that Nolan has come so far to producing a Bond film.

Many film fans have called for Christopher Nolan to take on the Bond franchise in earnest as its influence on some of his action-thriller movies, especially his hugely popular Batman trilogy, is quite evident. Tenet is the closest that Nolan has come so far to producing a Bond film, with Washington’s Protagonist carrying out exciting side missions that bring him closer and closer to his target and set up the action-packed climax with some of Nolan’s best set-pieces.

14 Salt (2010)

Angelina Jolie Stars As A Betrayed CIA Agent

Angelina Jolie steps into the spy game to make the titular Evelyn Salt a super spy worth mentioning alongside both Bond and Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt. A CIA agent accused of being a traitor, Salt goes on the run to prevent a wider plot involving a hidden team of Russian sleeper agents who have secretly infiltrated the highest levels of the U.S. government.

Fans of early Bond movies should love its take on Cold War thrills and fans of the more recent Bond movies won’t be left disappointed by Jolie’s confidence as an action star. It is also a gripping story with the truth behind Salt’s actions and motivations left a mystery for much of the movie. Though the canceled plans for Salt 2 left many disappointed, the original movie still provides a lot of slick spy thrills.

13 Our Kind Of Traitor (2016)

A Regular Couple Sucked Into A Spy Thriller

Our Kind of Traitor
is

adapted from the novel of the same name by John le Carré.

Sometimes it is more fun to watch an amateur spy at work in a dangerous situation rather than a skilled and trained agent like 007. That is the approach with the grounded and captivating, Our Kind of Traitor. Adapted from the novel of the same name by John le Carré, Our Kind of Traitor follows a civilian couple who become embroiled in a shadowy international plot involving illegal money and assassination. It stars Ewan McGregor, Naomie Harris, and Damian Lewis.

The approach to the spy world is certainly more old-school Bond than latter-day Bond, but the intelligent conversations driving the plot forward keep the tension as high as elaborate action sequences do. Fans of Ian Fleming’s novels should seek it out for its rich characters and story details, while movie fans won’t want to miss the impressive ensemble.

12 Jack Reacher (2012)

Tom Cruise Stars In The Lee Child Adaptation

Tom Cruise brought Jack Reacher to the big screen, and, while he might not have the same expensive tastes as Bond, the highly-trained sleuth shares his distinctly uncompromising attitude. Reacher is a tough and formidable military police officer who comes to investigate the case of a former soldier gunning down innocent civilians only to discover that there is a wider conspiracy at play.

With a mysterious European villain (Werner Herzog), Jack Reacher is a gripping mystery with all the tension and quality of a James Bond movie. There was some criticism for Cruise stepping into the role of Reacher who is described in Lee Child’s books as being a massive warrior, more akin to how Alan Richardson plays him in the Reacher TV series.

11 Atomic Blonde (2017)

Charlize Theron In A John Wick-Style Adventure

In Atomic Blonde, Charlize Theron plays secret agent Lorraine Broughton, who’s sent to Berlin on a mission to find out who murdered her colleague and to recover an important list. There, she is confronted with the ambiguity of the Cold War-era spy world as she finds herself surrounded by enemies and now knows which of her potential allies is really on her side.

The brutality of the action scenes is the best testament to Theron’s commitment to the role, which sees the super spy showing off her Bond-like skills as both a lover and a fighter. The movie is a lot more visually stylized than the James Bond franchise ever is, but that spills over into the action sequences and doesn’t just linger in the backdrops. However, as memorable as the action scenes are, Atomic Blonde works well as a gripping thriller.

10 North By Northwest (1959)

Alfred Hitchcock’s Spy Masterpiece

Alfred Hitchcock was a master filmmaker, and his 1956 masterpiece, North byNorthwest, is one of several Hitchcock movies that informed the spy genre before Dr. No came out and directly inspired the Bond franchise. The film follows a New York City ad executive (Cary Grant), as he finds himself on the run for his life after being confused with a government agent by international spies.

The genre of mistaken identities can be hit or miss, but North by Northwest is seen as the gold standard for telling these stories with thrills and intrigue. Grant gives an iconic performance as another everyday character who is thrust into the spy world and fights to survive against relentless and skilled enemies. Grant and Hitchcock’s collaborations were high points in each of their respective careers with many claiming this is their best work together.

9 Three Days Of The Condor (1975)

Robert Redford In A Spy Thriller From The 1970s

Robert Redford and Faye Dunaway star in this icy thriller that uses a more subversive urban-set conspiracy story than Roger Moore’s campier James Bond adventures in the mid-1970s. Redford takes on the role of a CIA researcher who finds all of his co-workers assassinated when he returns from lunch, forcing him to go on the run in New York City and stay one step ahead of those trying to kill him.

Three Days of the Condor is an iconic spy movie that helped shape the genre as much as some of the classic James Bond movies did. It is another film that features a spy who is in over his head and Redford’s hero is not equipped for this kind of danger. It also features a standout performance from Max Von Sydow as the assassin who is on Redford’s trail yet who showcases a fascinating philosophy about his job.

8 Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)

Gary Oldman’s Take On George Smiley

Adapted from the novel of the same name by John le Carré, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a Cold War thriller set during the 1970s and follows George Smiley, played by Gary Oldman, a former British agent who is brought back into the spy game to find a mole. Oldman received his first Oscar nomination for his reserved role while the movie also features standout performances from Colin Firth, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Tom Hardy.

Fans of the literary side of James Bond will love the cast of the film as each of the world-class actors amplifies the stiffer-upper-lip side of Bond to its full dramatic extent and the film delves deeper into the psychology of its characters than most movies. Like many of le Carré’s stories, it is a more grounded and real-world spy movie without big action scenes but still manages to pack a punch.

7 Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014)

A Spy Movie Based On A Graphic Novel

Director Matthew Vaughn has made several movies inspired by or paying homage to James Bond, but The Kingsman was his best effort. The movie stars Taron Egerton as a young hoodlum recruited by Colin Firth’s sophisticated spy to join a top-secret organization as one of its newest agents. The movie also stars Samuel L. Jackson as the movie’s fun take on a Bond villain.

Kingsman: The Secret Service is more graphically violent than even 007’s darkest moments, but those elements are balanced by the film’s emphasis on comedy. The Kingsman franchise may be heavily inspired by James Bond, but it adds its twist to the spy genre. Rather than having the titular Kingsman spy organization be an extension of a government, they’re an independent body. The movies satirize the tropes of the genre as much as they save the world.

6 The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (2015)

A Spy Movie Based On The 1960s TV Show

Henry Cavill has long been a fan-favorite to take on the role as Bond, but he has already played a Bond-like role in a criminally underseen spy movie. The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is an adaptation of the 1960s TV series of the same name and follows two spies, one from the USA and one from the Soviet Union, who work with the daughter of a missing scientist to stop a plot involving a nuclear bomb.

Guy Ritchie brings out a back-and-forth dynamic between the main trio, evoking a classic James Bond movie feeling. It is also the best case that has been made for Cavill starring as Bond with the actor delivering a funny, charming, and heroic performance that steals the movie. The movie’s period setting also evokes the relatively simplistic beauty of the early Bond movies from the 1960s.

5 The Bourne Identity (2002)

The Movie That Forced James Bond Movies To Change

The Bourne Identity was a game-changer for the action and spy genres, bringing hard-hitting fight scenes and intense grounded set-pieces to the genre that can sometimes get over the top. Adapted from the novel of the same name by Robert Ludlum, the story follows Jason Bourne as he is pulled out of the ocean, barely clinging to life with four bullet holes in his back. Suffering from amnesia, Bourne must uncover the truth about his past.

The film was a massive success for critics and at the box office, offering a low-key take on the concept of a superspy that the 007 franchise emulated, especially in Daniel Craig’s Bond movie, Quantum of Solace. Matt Damon made for a surprisingly effective action star and Jason Bourne became another of cinema’s most iconic spies while also being a complex character.

4 Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018)

Tom Cruise Takes M:I To A Higher Level

While James Bond has the longevity and iconic status on its side, the Mission: Impossible movies have gradually surpassed 007 to become the best spy franchise right now. Mission: Impossible – Fallout continues to prove that with the sixth entry into the franchise which finds Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his team attempting to stop a mysterious figure from detonating a nuclear warhead and bringing about a new world order.

Hailed by critics as one of the best in the series, the film contains several of the Mission: Impossible franchise’s most death-defying stunts, ones only in danger of being topped by Cruise himself in the next installment, Dead Reckoning. Henry Cavill also joined the team for this adventure, furthering his credentials for the 007 role, and the action sequences match the Bond franchise’s emphasis on practicality with impressive gusto.

3 The Rock (1996)

A Spy Movie Starring The First James Bond Actor

Filled with explosive shootouts and chases, this Michael Bay thriller sees Nicolas Cage play an FBI chemical weapons expert forced to team with a captured spy to break into Alcatraz and stop a group of rogue Special Forces soldiers threatening San Francisco with deadly nerve gas.

There’s an excess of the kind of action and adventure sequences that fuel the spy movies. Many fans regard this as Bay’s best movie to date with thrilling and entertaining action sequences without being weighed down by the humor injected into his later movies. The most fun aspect of the movie is the chemistry between Cage and Sean Connery as the two unlikely heroes. Sean Connery’s character plays off of his past as James Bond and the action sequences on display all but guarantee a good time for 007 fans.

2 The Ipcress File (1965)

A Spy Thriller Starring Michael Caine

The Ipcress File was released during the rising popularity of James Bond in 1965 and Michael Caine portrays the main character, a spy named Harry Palmer. Unlike Bond, Palmer struggles with bureaucracy and leads a far less exotic lifestyle that focuses on the reality of post-war life in Europe. The movie follows Palmer as he investigates the cases of British scientists being captured and brainwashed.

Caine’s Harry Palmer movies remain one of their most interesting counterpoints in British cinema.

Palmer makes for a unique and entertaining protagonist in the spy genre with a wisecracking nature to him. Caine reprised the role several more times and, though they never achieved the popularity of Eon Productions’ Bond films, Caine’s Harry Palmer movies remain one of their most interesting counterpoints in British cinema. It is an exciting alternative to the earlier Bond movies while still capturing the spy intrigue and compelling mission at the center of the story.

1 Patriot Games (1992)

Harrison Ford In The Jack Ryan Thriller

Following The Hunt for Red October, Harrison Ford became the second actor to play Jack Ryan, the CIA analyst hero at the center of several of Tom Clancy’s novels. Patriot Games follows Ryan as he prevents the assassination of a prominent British official. Ryan then becomes the target of a terrorist, played by Sean Bean. Along with Ford and Bean playing the hero and villain roles, Patriot Games also includes Samuel L. Jackson, Richard Harris, and James Earl Jones.

The film features stellar performances from the cast, most notably Harrison Ford as Ryan, who reprised the role in Clear and Present Danger. Both films offer an interesting take on the espionage hero, one of the best movies like James Bond, but the British connection makes Patriot Games one of Ryan’s most Bond-like movie outings to date.