The 25 best films featuring spies and secret agents

What are the best films that feature spies or secret agents? We’re glad you asked. Here are the 25 best films featuring spies, secret agents, and undercover officers.

You knew this entry was coming, as James Bond is, without a doubt, the most skillful, suave, accomplished and overall greatest film and literature spy/secret agent of all time. However, picking the best 007 film would be a tough task, as the franchise not only includes some two-dozen installments, but also six different actors in the lead role. If we were to attempt to name our favorite actors, it would definitely be a close race between Sean Connery (the original) and Daniel Craig (the most recent), with "Goldfinger" (1964), "Skyfall" (2012), "Casino Royale" (2006) and "Dr. No" (1962) among the finalists. Apologies to Roger Moore, George Lazenby, Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan, all of whom did a solid job carrying the 007 torch, too.

No detective is better known for his disguises than Inspector Clouseau of the “Pink Panther” franchise. Throughout 10 installments between 1963 and 2009, the incomparable and incompetent Clouseau (played by Peter Sellers, Alan Arkin and Steve Martin) dresses up as a telephone repairman, dentist, salty sea dog, Godfather-like mafioso, housekeeper, knight in shining armor and a buck-toothed hunchback, among many other personas. We’d say he’s a master of disguise, but anyone who has seen the “Pink Panther” movies knows that the inspector’s costumes rarely do a thorough job of actually disguising him.

It’s easy to think that there are no more unique ideas when it comes to spy and secret agent entertainment, but 2014’s “Kingsman: The Secret Service” put this misconception to rest. Based on the “Kingsman” comic book series, which debuted in 2012, the film adaptation stars Taron Egerton as Gary “Eggsy” Unwin, a young hoodlum and Royal Marines dropout who is recruited by Harry Hart (Colin Firth) into a private intelligence service. Praised for its originality, cast, stylized action sequences, and even its humor, “Kingsman: The Secret Service” led to a 2017 sequel, “Kingsman: The Golden Circle.”

In order to free six U.S. Embassy employees trapped behind enemy lines in Iran, CIA specialist Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck) goes undercover as a movie producer who is supposedly scouting filming locations. After gaining entry, Mendez then has to disguise the embassy workers as his film crew in order to extract them. Based on a true story, 2012’s “Argo” won Oscars for Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Film Editing, in addition to four other nominations.

The “21 Jump Street” film adaptation starring Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum certainly had its doubters, and although it was a very silly and immature film, the 2012 comedy was also constant hilarity for all 109 minutes. Thanks to a tight script and Brie Larson, Rob Riggle, Dave Franco and Ice Cube in supporting roles (plus a couple of outstanding cameos), “21 Jump Street” amassed an 85 percent freshness rating on Rotten Tomatoes and $201 million at the box office.

John le Carré penned the spy novel “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” in 1973, but it wasn’t until 2011 that he saw it adapted to the big screen. Gary Oldman starred in the Cold War-era film as British intelligence officer George Smiley, with Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, John Hurt and Toby Jones in supporting roles, and director Tomas Alfredson at the helm. The plot, suspense and script were generally acclaimed by critics, with “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” also earning Best Actor (Oldman), Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Original Score nominations at the 84th Academy Awards.

A British-Russian midwife (Naomi Watts) sets out to find the family of a baby whose teenage mother died in childbirth, but ends up getting entangled with some shady characters from the Russian mafia and, eventually, an agent from Russia’s primary security agency. Viggo Mortensen co-stars in the universally acclaimed 2007 David Cronenberg-directed gangster film, and we’d love to tell you more... but, to be perfectly honest, we’ve already said too much.

The best part about Martin Scorsese's 2006 crime drama “The Departed” is that, as the film progresses, you never really know who the good guys are and who the bad guys are. And even then, the lines between those subjective terms get progressively blurry as the film reaches its finale. One type of person that’s easy to spot, however, are the A-list actors, as the Oscar-winning “The Departed” is chock full of them. The lineup includes stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon and Jack Nicholson, as well as Alec Baldwin, Martin Sheen, Mark Wahlberg, Vera Farmiga, Anthony Anderson and Kevin Corrigan.

When 11 Israeli athletes are killed by Palestinian terrorists at the 1972 Munich Olympics, Israel sends a small group of undercover intelligence agents after the 11 people responsible for the attack. Based on a true story, Steven Spielberg’s highly acclaimed 2005 drama was nominated for five Oscars (including Best Picture and Best Director), two Golden Globes and a Grammy, and starred Eric Bana, Daniel Craig and Geoffrey Rush. 

Second to another figure later in this list, Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) might be the greatest spy in film history. In fact, his brain is so full of strategy, tactics, and combat skills that he doesn’t even have room to remember his real name or his past. (Okay, maybe that’s not a totally accurate representation of the character.) Still, in 2002’s “The Bourne Identity,” the uber-undercover CIA weapon did such a wonderful job getting himself into and out of trouble, as well as taking down the black ops Operation Treadstone program, that he was granted four sequels (although Jeremy Renner was the lead in one Damon-free installment as former agent Aaron Cross).

After making a name for himself with well-received films like “Birdman of Alcatraz” and “The Manchurian Candidate” (both of which were released in 1962), director John Frankenheimer fell out of favor thanks to a few box office bombs, including 1996’s “The Island of Dr. Moreau.” However, “Ronin” (1998) was something of a return to form for the director, as the spy thriller was praised by critics for its strong cast (including Robert De Niro and Jean Reno) and exciting car chases. We can’t give too much of the plot away, but it involves a stolen briefcase and a number of individuals pursuing it, including folks who may or may not be associated with the CIA, IRA, KGB and Russian Mafia, as well as several mercenaries.

Never was the spy genre better spoofed than in 1997’s “Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery.” Created by, written by, and starring comedian Mike Myers (who plays both the titular protagonist and the main villain, Dr. Evil), “Austin Powers” pulls no punches while also throwing plenty of innuendo, slapstick humor, famous faces and judo chops into the mix, to the delight of comedy fans across the world. Myers also managed to lampoon plenty of other pop culture figures (from the Beatles to the Six Million Dollar Man) in the spy franchise, which also included the sequels “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me” (1999) and “Austin Powers in Goldmember” (2002).

Loosely based on the true story of Joseph Pistone, an FBI agent who went undercover to infiltrate and take down New York City’s Bonanno crime family, “Donnie Brasco” starred Johnny Depp as Pistone/Brasco and Al Pacino as gangster Benjamin “Lefty” Ruggiero, with Michael Madsen, Bruno Kirby, James Russo and Anne Heche in supporting roles. Both lead actors received praise for their performances, and the script — based on Pistone’s own autobiography — earned a Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar nomination.

Six career criminals are recruited for a diamond heist, but when the plan goes awry, members of the group, their mob-boss organizer, and his underboss son begin to suspect there’s a rat (specifically an undercover cop) in their presence. Although something of a cult film at first, Quentin Tarantino’s “Reservoir Dogs” has since become viewed as a cinematic masterpiece complete with a Mexican stand-off, a brutal torture scene, and a storyline that keeps the audience guessing until the tense final scene. The 1992 heist film also happens to have an A-list cast consisting of Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Chris Penn, Lawrence Tierney and Steve Buscemi.

The reviews may have been mixed, but there’s no doubt that “Point Break” (1991) is beloved by many film fans. It stars Keanu Reeves as rookie FBI Agent Johnny Utah, who goes undercover to infiltrate the world of surfing and catch the Ex-Presidents, a gang of robbers responsible for a string of recent bank heists. For the film, Reeves and co-stars Patrick Swayze and Lori Petty had to learn to surf, which was especially challenging for Keanu, who had no experience with the sport, and Petty, who had never even been in the ocean. Against a budget of $24 million, “Point Break” surprisingly raked in nearly $84 million at the box office.

The late Tom Clancy had a lot of his novels turned into films, but no adaptation was better than 1990’s “The Hunt for Red October.” The espionage thriller stars Sean Connery as Soviet captain Marko Ramius, and Alec Baldwin as the CIA agent who aids in Ramius’ defection while he commands the Red October, a nuclear first-strike submarine. The duo face a number of challenges (including an undercover Russian military intelligence agent) while executing their dangerous mission, adding even more excitement and suspense to the John McTiernan-directed film.

Not all undercover officer films need to be dramatic; there’s room for comedies, too, like the classic Leslie Nielsen movie “The Naked Gun: From the Files of the Police Squad!” The 1988 slapstick chuckle-fest opens with Detective Frank Drebin (Nielsen) in disguise in Beirut attempting to crash a meeting of America’s greatest enemies, and toward the end, he famously impersonates both an opera singer and an umpire while protecting the Queen of England at a baseball game. (“Hey, it’s Enrico Palazzo!”) Although this film franchise includes three installments, the first is by far the best.

Joe Turner (Robert Redford) was simply a bookish CIA analyst, but when his office is attacked by armed assassins, he must go undercover to stay alive and get to the bottom of the violence, while the lines that divide the good guys and bad guys get increasingly blurred throughout. Sydney Pollack directed this classic 1975 political thriller, which earned an Oscar nod for Best Film Editing.

Protecting French President General Charles de Gaulle is no easy task, especially when a tactful expert assassin nicknamed “The Jackal” (Edward Fox) is hot on his tail. In order to complete his mission, the Jackal must obtain a special weapon, secure phony identification, don numerous disguises, and eliminate everyone in his way. Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner Claude Lebel (Michel Lonsdale) and members of the French militia are tirelessly pursuing the spy in an attempt to save de Gaulle in this 1973 political thriller, which was nominated for a Best Film Editing Academy Award.

Sidney Lumet’s neo-noir masterpiece “Serpico” wasn’t just an engrossing tale of one cop (Al Pacino) and his dangerous undercover efforts to expose police corruption in the NYPD, it also happens to be based on a true story. The experiences of Frank Serpico were first chronicled in a biography by Peter Maas, which was quickly adapted into an Oscar-nominated screenplay by Waldo Salt and Norman Wexler.

To rescue U.S. Army General George Carnaby (Robert Beatty) from the German Army during the latter part of World World II, Major John Smith (Richard Burton) and Lieutenant Morris Schaffer (Clint Eastwood) must disguise themselves as German soldiers, parachute behind enemy lines, and surrender in order to gain access to Carnaby. Of course, not everything goes according to plan, and not everything is as it seems, with MI6, the Gestapo and numerous double agents all getting involved in the tangled web weaved in the 1968 action film “Where Eagles Dare.”

1965 was a big year for spy films, as “The Ipcress File” was followed a few months later by “The Spy Who Came in from the Cold,” based on the 1963 John le Carré novel of the same name. Richard Burton earned an Oscar nomination for his role as Alec Leamas, the station chief of the West Berlin office of the British Secret Intelligence Service, who must pretend to defect in order to be recruited by East Germans and obtain valuable information. Although “The Spy Who Came in from the Cold” failed to win an Academy Award, it cleaned up at the BAFTAs, winning Best Film, Best Actor, Best Art Direction and Best Cinematography.

Although the Harry Palmer franchise (based on the novels by Len Deighton) includes six films, the first, “The Ipcress File,” is by far the best. Iconic actor Michael Caine starred in the 1965 film as Palmer, a British Ministry of Defence spy who is the anti-007. By comparison, Palmer is dull, slowed by bureaucracy, and aspires not to charm every beautiful woman of the world and live the high life, but instead to simply get a pay raise. Still, he is a skilled and determined bađass who famously resisted some aggressive brainwashing in the highly acclaimed “The Ipcress File,” while repeating the words, “My. Name. Is. Harry. Palmer.”

When the 1959 Alfred Hitchcock classic “North by Northwest” begins, Roger Thornhill (Cary Grant) isn’t a spy, a secret agent, or an undercover officer — he’s just an advertising executive who happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. After being mistaken for a spy, Thornhill has to evade capture by fellow spies Phillip Vandamm (James Mason) and Eve Kendall (Eva Marie Saint), one of whom turns out to actually be a double agent working for the U.S. Government. “North by Northwest” earned three Academy Award nominations, and although it didn’t win, the gripping thriller is nevertheless viewed as one of the greatest movies in the history of film.

With all the attention given to Alfred Hitchcock horror/mystery films of the ‘50s and ‘60s like “Psycho,” “Rear Window,” “Vertigo” and “The Birds,” it’s easy to forget about his earlier spy and secret agent thrillers. Among the best is 1935’s “The 39 Steps,” a loose adaptation of the 1915 adventure novel of the same name in which a theatergoer (Robert Donat) crosses paths with a spy (Lucie Mannheim) and suddenly finds himself on the run when she is murdered by assassins. When attempting to flee to safety, he only seems to stumble upon more spies and assassins, making this British film an edge-of-the-seat thriller from start to finish. Although there have been numerous adaptations of the John Buchan novel, Hitchcock’s is regarded as the best.