These Are the 25 Best Spy Movies of All Time – menshealth.com

Various

Wiretaps, state surveillance, assassins struck with amnesia, Armie Hammers Russian accentwere talking about spy movies, the best spy movies, the best spy movies ever.

Now, obviously, we cant please everybody. When we set out to write this list, we wanted a wide sampling of spy craft cinema. We wanted a mix of historical gems with action blockbusters. We wanted a bit of reality and fantasy, seriousness and comedy. We wanted those films that have stood the test of time and those contemporary efforts that, while maybe lacking in the plot department, broke through in other areas, like stunts and special effects and tone. Which is all to say, were probably going to miss some of your favorites. (Boo hoo.)

What makes a spy movie a spy movie? Two categories. On one hand, were looking at realism, the films that depict probable spy craftfilms which feature real techniques and real stakes, if only slightly altered for dramatic purposes. These are Cold War dramas. Stories about human assets and operatives, not bred assassins and spies. Stories that accurately depict the incentives, the demands, and the consequences of international espionage.

And then we have the hyperrealism, the films that offer escapism, that make us want to be 10 years old again and go into our backyard and start doing dumb shit. These are the films with heightened stakes and crazy stunt work and car chases and hunters being hunted. Everything shaken. Nothing stirred.

So with all that in mind, here are our favorite spy movies, which we are calling the best spy movies. Are we missing one or two films that should be here? Probably. Deal with it.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

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

Guy Ritchie's reboot of the 1964 television series contains all the director's stylistic action alongside some great buddy comedy. And from two actors we didn't expect. Also lots of sexual attention. No? Just us? C'mon, look at those jawlines.

Stream It Here

Unthinkable (2010)

Controversial for its scenes of torture, Unthinkable chews on some pretty intense utilitarian questions while also being a fun ride.

Stream It Here

The Hunt for Red October (1990)

Based on the Tom Clancy novel, The Hunt for Red October is maybe the best submarine spy film. (We're counting Das Boot as a war movie, so calm down.)

Stream It Here

Enemy of the State (1998)

The film will probably feel more prescient than paranoid these days given the the state surveillance efforts after 9/11.

Stream It Here

Munich (2005)

Based on Israeli intelligence's Operation Wrath of God, a retaliatory operation for the 1972 Munich Olympics terror attack, which left 11 Israeli Olympians dead, Munich is maybe the closest to actual assassin activity of any film on this list. The result is more tragedy than blockbuster.

Stream It Here

A Most Wanted Man (2014)

Three names: Philip Seymour Hoffman. A Most Wanted Man was Hoffman's last film to be finished, and the legendary actor turns in another standout performance as a German intelligence officer.

Stream It Here

Snowden (2016)

Three names again: Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Levitt gives a standout performance as former CIA analyst Edward Snowden in a biopic probably as polarizing as the man himself.

Stream It Here

Zero Dark Thirty (2012)

Chronicling the nearly ten-year-long hunt for Osama bin Laden, Kathrine Bigelow's 2012 thriller shows all the trials and difficulties of military intelligence work. It also features a controversial interrogation scene you're going to want to read up on after.

Stream It Here

The Manchurian Candidate (1962)

Skip the remake and watch the original. Made at the height of Cold War tension and paranoia, The Manchurian Candidate is as much historical document as it is a classic film. No other film does the sleeper cell concept in a more terrifying way.

Stream It Here

Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)

When there are spy films, there are spy film parodies, and Austin Powers and all his mojo do it more absurdly than anyone else.

Stream It Here

Burn After Reading (2008)

The Coen Brothers' pitch black spy comedy is somehow both ridiculous and simultaneously compelling. They're all having sex with each other!

Stream It Here

Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014)

Both a parodic response to the new serious James Bond films and a celebration of all the stunts and pyrotechnics that make 007 movies great, Kingsman is in a league of it's own. One of the best action films of all time. This is how you shoot a fight scene, Hollywood.

Stream It Here

Day of the Jackal (1973)

Based on the Frederick Forsyth novel, Jackal follows one assassin and one mission: killing French president Charles de Gaulle. Its singular focus does away with body count action cinema, making for an actually compelling and seemingly realistic depiction of targeted killing.

Stream It Here

The Good Shepherd (2006)

A semi-fictional account of the early days of the CIA, Robert De Niro's historical drama captures the paranoia and uncertainty of post war Europe. The Cold War didn't begin with gunshots. It began with briefcases.

Stream It Here

Argo (2012)

Based on the real mission lead by CIA operative Tony Mendez who posed as a filmmaker to rescue U.S. diplomats trapped in Tehran during the hostage crises, Argo is as wild as it getswhile still being true.

Stream It Here

Mission: Impossible - Fallout (2018)

When it comes to stunt work and action sequences, few do it better than Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt. For Fallout, Cruise and company went bigger than ever, and oh boy does it pay off.

Stream It Here

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (2011)

The Spy Who Came in From the Cold (1965)

Eastern Promises (2007)

Eastern Promises is our wild card on this list. Explaining why the film belongs here, however, might be a bit of a spoiler. So we'll just leave it at this: this film will punch you in the throat.

Stream It Here

The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)

The Bourne franchise is perhaps the best example of hyper-realized spy thrillers around. While Paul Greengrass' handheld-directed fight sequences can feel overly frenetic at times, the pacing and chase scenes make this franchise one of the best action trilogies ever. (We'll ignore that fourth film.)

Stream It Here

Notorious (1946)

Here come the Hitchcocks. It's hard to talk about suspense without mentioning the master, and Alfred Hitchock brought all his talents to this one. It's a love story trapped inside an espionage operation and maybe the best spy melodrama ever put to screen.

Stream It Here

North by Northwest (1959)

One more for the master, this one about an innocent man pursued across America by an unknown organization. It's maybe Hitchcock's best film and an essential watch in the spy genre. It was put to screen just as the Cold War was heating up.

Stream It Here

Goldfinger (1964)

This entry is for at least several James Bond films, including From Russia with Love, Dr. No, and Skyfall. But we're going with Goldfinger and Sean Connery at his 007 prime. What more could you want from a spy movie?

Stream It Here

The Lives of Others (2006)

Bond may take the cake when it comes to action spy thrillers (and Hitchcock when it comes to just general suspense), but when it comes to espionage with heart and soul, the best spy film has to be Germany's The Lives of Others. The film follows the years-long surveillance of a fictional East German playwright. Tragic and heroic in equal measure, it's the kind of film that somehow makes all other spy movies feel tired and jingoistic.

Stream It Here

This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

Read more here:
These Are the 25 Best Spy Movies of All Time - menshealth.com