Mission: Impossible (1996)
Mission: Impossible has shaped the spy genre since its 1996 release, thanks in part to the massive franchise that birthed from it. The series is constantly pushing the envelope when it comes to creativity in spy gadgets and elaborate stunts—not to mention the fact that the Mission: Impossible score is the signature sound of any spy content. Just search #MissionImpossible on TikTok, and you’ll get the idea.
The Equalizer (2014)
While not a traditional spy drama, The Equalizer is technically about a spy, so IMO, it still counts. In the movie, Denzel Washington plays a retired CIA operative who goes back to his old ways when he bonds with a young woman in trouble with Russian gangsters. It’s violent, brutal, and a very entertaining watch.
Spy Kids (2001)
Spy movies are not always family-friendly…unless you’re in the mood for Spy Kids, which is perhaps the best spy movie for kids ever made. The iconic comedy adventure of the early aughts stars Alexa PenaVega and Daryl Sabara as siblings Carmen and Juni, respectively, who have to rescue their parents who—surprise—are actually super spies. The only way to do that? Become spies themselves, obvs.
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Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015)
I may be biased, but any movie that stars Colin Firth as a mild-mannered British assassin who kicks ass with his super umbrella is good in my book! Needless to say, if you’re looking for a classic, down-to-earth spy movie, this is not it. But, if you’re looking for a coming-of-age/larger-than-life thriller, Kingsman: The Secret Service needs to be on your watch list.
Spy (2015)
This Melissa McCarthy action comedy has everything you want from the spy genre: epic costumes and makeup, gadgets, twists, life-or-death fights, and luxurious locations. But it’s also not afraid to poke a little fun at the tropes of the genre (the over-confident super spy known for cheating death, the ridiculous villain, etc.), which is what makes it so damn fun.
Casino Royale (2006)
You can’t talk about spy movies without talking about James Bond, the most iconic spy character in Hollywood. There are over 20 movies about 007, the MI6 British super spy, and he’s been played by multiple A-listers. Everyone has a favorite James Bond movie, but I’m partial to Casino Royale because of how it functioned as a kind of Bond backstory.
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Tenet (2020)
If you like your spy thrillers with a side of science fiction, then Tenet has got to be on your watch-list. Starring John David Washington and Robert Pattinson, it’s about a former CIA agent who figures out how to manipulate time and uses that power to prevent a catastrophic attack.
Atomic Blonde (2017)
Set right before the collapse of the Berlin Wall, Atomic Blonde stars Charlize Theron as Lorraine Broughton, an elite MI6 spy who’s tasked with taking down an espionage ring in Berlin—although the mission proves more dangerous than she initially realized.
Hanna (2011)
What happens when you leave the CIA and raise your daughter in the wilderness of Finland, training her to become an extremely deadly assassin? You get tracked down by the CIA trying to take the both of you out, of course! Saoirse Ronan is amazing as the titular Hanna and Cate Blanchett (who plays the CIA agent trying to track them down) is perfection as always.
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Enemy of the State (1998)
Will Smith and Gene Hackman take the lead in this movie about a group of NSA agents who conspire to kill a congressman. Despite working for the NSA and all, a tape of the murder manages to surface and ends up on the desk of a lawyer.
The Conversation (1974)
You’re probably familiar with Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather, but if you haven’t seen The Conversation, then you’re really missing out. Basically it’s about a surveillance expert who uncovers a potential murder and has to decide whether he’s gonna do something about it.
Three Days of the Condor (1975)
We’ve all had bad days at the office but this movie (starring ’70s movie hunk Robert Redford) is next-level. Picture this: You’re a CIA analyst who pops out for a lunch break and when you get back to the office, you realize that your co-workers have all been murdered. Obviously, you start trying to find out who’s responsible.
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North by Northwest (1959)
No one’s better at keeping you on the edge of your seat than Alfred Hitchcock (highly recommend an emotional support blanket while watching his movies), and North by Northwest is no exception. It’s about a man who falls victim to a very unfortunate case of mistaken identity, which gets him pursued by a group of agents who think he’s trying to stop their smuggling operation.
M. Butterfly (1993)
Who doesn’t love a spy flick with a side of romance? Certainly not I! If you’re not familiar with the story of M. Butterfly, it’s about a French diplomat in China during that ’60s who falls for an opera singer who, as it turns out, is spying on him for the Chinese government.
A Call to Spy (2020)
Yet another spy thriller inspired by a true story, A Call to Spy is about three very different women who joined Churchill’s all-women spy agency at the beginning of WWII to help undermine the Nazi regime in France.
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Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)
Ofc you can’t have a spy movie roundup without Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. Set in London during the early ’70s, this flick follows the hunt for a Soviet double agent at the top of British Intelligence, and it’s a truly wild ride.
Traitor (2008)
In Traitor, Don Cheadle plays a Sudanese American former Special Ops soldier and devout Muslim who becomes the prime suspect in a string of explosions targeting civilians.
Shadow Dancer (2012)
Set in 1990s Belfast toward the end of the Northern Ireland conflict, Shadow Dancer tells the story of a single mother and IRA member who is caught by a British agent and then given an impossible ultimatum: spy on her comrades or go to prison.
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Body of Lies (2008)
Starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe, this one is set in the Middle East, following the attempts of a CIA operative, his superior, and the head of Jordanian Intelligence to catch the elusive terrorist aligned with Al-Qaeda.
The East (2013)
Starring Alexander Skarsgård and Elliot Page, this wildly underrated spy thriller follows an undercover operative for a private intelligence firm who’s tasked with infiltrating “the East,” an ecoterrorism organization.
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