Since I make spy video games, I've spent quite a bit of time researching the spy genre in all media.  Here are my picks for the best spy films, including both dramas and comedies.  If you'd like to see my spy picks in other media, links are provided at the very end.

Last updated: August 2024

Dramas

• Mission: Impossible films (especially Mission: Impossible 1)

If you like action in your spy films, then it doesn't get any better than Mission: Impossible films like Ghost Protocol, Rogue Nation, and Fallout.   But even the action-heavy Mission: Impossible series delivers a great tale of spy intrigue in its first installment (if you can get past what they did with a beloved character from the original TV series)

• James Bond films (especially From Russia with Love)

When you think of a spy, you probably think of James Bond.  You can't go wrong with films like Goldfinger, The Spy Who Loved Me, or Goldeneye, but when it comes to a quintessential spy story, no Bond film does it better than From Russia with Love.  This time out, James Bond enters a contested region with hopes of bringing back both a defector and the decryption device she claims to have stolen.  Bond and MI6 know it's an obvious trap, but the decryption device is a prize too tantalizing to resist, so they of course send in their best man, agent 007, to deal with the situation

• Jack Ryan films (especially The Hunt for Red October)

Most spy films focus on field agents who risk their lives with regularity.  Not so with Jack Ryan - he's a desk-riding analyst who gets pulled into hazardous situations not because he's best equipped to handle the threat but instead because he's the one who spotted the danger before anyone else and nobody else is taking action on his intel.  The Hunt for Red October focuses on a rogue submarine that could spark a world war with its nuclear launch capabilities and stealth propulsion system.  Enter Jack Ryan to find the truth and save the day

• Jason Bourne films

The epitome of a highly-trained agent may well be Jason Bourne, a man who is lightning fast in combat even when he has full-on amnesia.  A three-film series (The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy, and The Bourne Ultimatum) examines Bourne as a man against his own agency, trying to remember exactly who he is and how he came to be this person.  You can skip The Bourne Legacy, which does not feature Matt Damon as Jason Bourne (the lead character is someone else and it's not really related), but Matt Damon returned to the role for a fourth time in the simply titled "Jason Bourne" which follows many of the same beats as the original trilogy but gives us some standout moments as well

• Argo

This film that won the Oscar for Best Picture tells the story of a real-life hostage crisis in Iran and what it took to get six Americans out safely.  There is a section in the film that's played for laughs as the CIA concocts and selects the "best bad idea we have" to fabricate the existence of a Hollywood film and send operatives into Iran under cover of being "film scouts" for a science fiction film.  But the threat to those caught behind enemy lines is treated with utmost tension, making this more drama than comedy.  Not every spy story is about stopping the end of the world - sometimes, it takes all the tradecraft we can muster (and then some) just to save half a dozen people on the other side of the world

• Three Days of the Condor

Robert Redford is a man who works for a division of the CIA where they spend their time reading through published novels to get ideas as well as see if any fictional works contain plots from leaked documents.  One day, he returns from grabbing lunch for the office to find all his co-workers dead, tipping him off they've stumbled onto something worth killing for and putting his own life in jeopardy.  A classic Robert Redford film, also starring Faye Dunaway

• Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

An adaptation of the book from John le Carre, a veteran spy is brought back into the game to uncover an enemy agent in his side's midst.   A much more measured, less action-packed tale than others on this list, this is a thinking man's spy story that will have you trusting nobody and suspecting everybody (in the film, not in real life, hopefully)

• The Manchurian Candidate (1962)

This film about sleeper agents has stood the test of time.  When a group of American soldiers return home, it seems they may have been brainwashed.  Can they resist?   Can they be stopped?   Can anyone be trusted?   If you don't mind your movies filmed in black-and-white, the Frank Sinatra version from 1962 is the one to watch.  There was a remake in 2004 with Denzel Washington, but there are some differences, so the original is recommended if the lack of color isn't a dealbreaker for you

• The Imitation Game

This biopic about Alan Turing centers on the world of codebreaking, a central function in outwitting your opponents.  Not all agents are on the frontlines - sometimes it's the people who make technological breakthroughs who make all the difference

• Snowden

All too often spy films depict the other side as the enemies.  Sometimes they will even depict a mole in the agency, acting alone.  Rarely do they dare show that the entire system is flawed.  This biopic about Edward Snowden pulls back the curtain on the NSA spying on the American public and what it took to bring that truth to light

• North by Northwest

The standard tale of a man in the wrong place at the wrong time.   Except this time, it's a film by Alfred Hitchcock starring Cary Grant, and the man is mistaken for a spy, which leads to memorable scenes like a crop duster airplane threatening the man on foot and a conclusion on top of Mount Rushmore

• The 39 Steps

An even older spy story than 1959's North by Northwest, this film released in 1935 has much the same premise - an innocent man suddenly gets caught up in the spy game - yet nonetheless remains a worthwhile watch to this day.   In my estimation, the shocking conclusion remains a highlight of the genre, even all these years later

• U-571

Another film about the acquisition of a codebreaking device (similar to From Russia with Love), except this one takes place onboard a submarine.  You'd be surprised how much spy work it takes to survive in the ocean during World War II

• Atomic Blonde

If you want some John Wick-style action in your spy movie, then this is the one for you.  Charlize Theron plays a spy sent to Berlin during the Cold War to investigate the murder of a fellow agent who was in possession of a list of double agents

• Salt

Angelina Jolie plays a CIA agent on the run named Evelyn Salt (hence the title "Salt").  While there are many man-on-the-run spy films, there are not quite as many woman-on-the-run spy films.  This film has some good twists and turns and is a deserving entry for the way things come to a head in the end

• Tetris

A true-to-life spy story about a man who is not a spy.  All he wants to do is obtain the rights to sell a video game.  The problem: that game was made by a man in Russia, so he finds himself engaging in corporate espionage and traveling behind the Iron Curtain to bring the video game Tetris to the world

• Captain America: The Winter Soldier

This is of course a superhero film more than a spy film, but it's got everything you'd want in a spy film.  Even Captain America is not immune from having to go on the run to find a way to clear his name

• Star Wars (especially Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and the TV show Andor)

You know the entire Star Wars franchise is based on spywork, right?  They're called the rebel alliance for a reason.  Those plans for destroying the Death Star were obtained via the work of spies - you may remember the line "many Bothans died to bring us this information."  For the best spy stories in Star Wars, Rogue One and Andor are your best bets

• Harry Potter

Now you may think I'm crazy putting Harry Potter on this list, but let's examine the facts: there's an invisibility cloak, the Marauder's Map, and polyjuice potion that turns you into another person entirely.  Tell me these aren't the exact artifacts that every single spy wishes they had.   The Harry Potter films are really spy films in disguise

• The Other Fellow

The only documentary on this list, this is a film about people who are named James Bond in real life.  The repercussions of having such a name are far wider than you could possibly imagine

Comedies

• Austin Powers

You can't have a list of best spy comedy films without Austin Powers on it.   In this top notch James Bond spoof, Mike Myers plays both the hero Austin Powers and the villain Dr. Evil (and some additional characters in the sequels).  Austin Powers is a spy from the 60's with an ever-active libido who volunteers to be frozen when his nemesis Dr. Evil escapes into space.  Dr. Evil returns decades later in the 90's, and Austin is thawed out and thrust into a changed world he doesn't fully understand.  You may find the comedy relies too heavily on catchphrases at times, but overall, this is the measuring stick against which all other spy comedy films are measured

• Kingsman

A secret society of British tailors actually operate as a clandestine, independent spy agency.  The first two films focus on the agency's present day before the third film (The King's Man) goes back to the agency's origins.   In general, these films delight in poking fun at spy tropes, and include memorable performances from not just Colin Firth and Taron Egerton as the principal players in the first two films, but also from the likes of Michael Caine, Samuel L Jackson, and even Elton John

• Spy

Melissa McCarthy stars in this comedic tale of a deskbound support agent who gets thrust into field action to take over a case she had been previously helping on from behind the scenes.  You probably don't need me to tell you how funny Melissa McCarthy is in this film, but Jason Statham is an unexpected comedic delight as a macho, empty-headed field agent who bristles at the promotion of McCarthy's agent

• xXx

Where to begin describing this ridiculous - and ridiculously entertaining - film.  Let's see, there's Vin Diesel as an adrenaline junkie who gets recruited to become a spy.  Oh, and his handler is Samuel L Jackson doing exactly the Samuel L Jackson scenery chewing you expect him to do.  A surprisingly good send-up of James Bond that asks the question, "What if the other side expects you to send a suave secret agent and would sniff him out in an instant?   Who would you send that they would never suspect?"  The answer: Vin Diesel as a famous extreme sports athlete, of course!  Such an obvious answer that I hesitate to even mention it

• True Lies

Here's an intriguing premise - Arnold Schwarzenegger plays a mild-mannered husband and father with a boring sales job.   Or at least that's what his wife (played by Jamie Lee Curtis) thinks.  But actually, he's a suave spy who when we says he's going to some conference in Cleveland or whatever, he's actually jetting off across the globe to save the day.   Eventually, his wife gets drawn into his world, and things are totally bonkers from start to finish

• Knight and Day

You know the setup - Tom Cruise plays a spy who has to clear his name.  Except in this film, a woman who's not in the spy game (played by Cameron Diaz) crosses paths with him, and it's actually a romantic comedy.   If you've seen every Mission: Impossible film, this is one to check out as Tom Cruise does his usual Ethan Hunt thing but instead of being a drama with a side of comedy like Mission: Impossible is, this one is comedy first and foremost, playing on all the usual spy tropes

• Ghosted

Very similar to Knight and Day, but with the gender roles reversed.  Ana de Armas plays a spy who has a meet cute with an ordinary guy at a farmer's market (except he's played by Chris Evans, so he's not THAT ordinary).  From there, it's the usual assortment of mistaken identities, unexpected development of feelings for each other, and other such elements, but it's still an enjoyable ride.   And it's nice to see the woman being the superspy while the guy is the befuddled passenger-turned-ally for a change

• Get Smart

A satisfying adaptation in 2008 of the TV show from the 1960's, Steve Carrell stars as Maxwell Smart, the absolute best analyst at wading through enemy chatter to discern actionable intel.  When he finally achieves promotion to field agent, he's partnered with Agent 99 (played by Anne Hathaway).  As an inexperienced field agent but a superior analyst, he alternates between bumbling operative and astute detective.  In this film, there's someone doing something funny everywhere you turn, whether it's Dwayne Johnson (aka The Rock) bashing together people's heads as the company's top agent, David Koechner making fun of those beneath him as a mid-level agent, Terence Stamp as the villain endlessly berating his henchmen, or any number of others in supporting or cameo roles

• Johnny English

Here we have a Bond spoof starring someone who was actually in a James Bond film.  Okay, it's Rowan Atkinson who was in Never Say Never Again, which despite starring Sean Connery as Bond is technically not an official James Bond film (there's a whole history behind that, let's not get into it here).   But if you want a spy comedy with more of a zany, bumbling Inspector Clouseau-type character as the lead, then here you go

• Our Man Flint & In Like Flint

A couple of comedies from the spy genre's heyday of the 1960's, this was a contemporary spoof of James Bond unlike Austin Powers' years-later take on Bond and Blofeld

Well, there you go - the best spy films ever made.  For top-notch spy stories in other media, check out these other links below:

• The best spy video games ever made
• The best spy TV shows ever made (dramas and comedies)
• The best spy books and graphic novels - coming soon