For some reason, the longheld pinnacle of the spy genre has been James Bond, the besuited British gentlemen with an MI6 license to kill. The stories of Bond’s many adventures have resulted in one of the longest-running movie franchises ever, with the first Bond film Dr. No being released in 1962.
While the character has changed and shifted, with each new actor bringing a different perspective to the adored special agent, it has never been darker than it is now, with Daniel Craig wearing the trimmed suit since 2006. But his run as Bond is coming to a close; No Time To Die will likely be the last time Craig enters the realm of British intelligence - and the stakes seem higher than ever before. But, while James Bond has dominated cinema for more than 50 years, he may not be the very best after all. Here are 10 Spy movies that are better than Bond.
Mission Impossible: Fallout
The sixth film in a franchise that began in 1996, Fallout is a fast-paced, well-acted masterpiece, possibly serving as the pinnacle of this classic series. The story is simple enough - when 3 plutonium cores go missing, Ethan Hunt and his time-tested crew must do all they can to retrieve the cores, preventing a global nuclear disaster. But Fallout delves even deeper into Hunt’s past, adding more layers to his noble character, all while explosions and bullets keep the pace moving. Similar to many Bond stories, Fallout has its own special differences that set it apart, and maybe even above, most Bond films.
Spy Game
This 2001 thriller stars Robert Redford as Nathan Muir, a CIA agent on the brink of retirement. But when he learns that his former student, Tom Bishop (Brad Pitt) has been arrested in China, facing charges of espionage, Muir is pulled back into the field, for one last desperate rescue attempt. One of the best things about Spy Game is its deeply personal nature. Unlike many of the blockbuster spy franchises, which rely on apocalyptic stakes to draw audiences in, Spy Game relies on a strong relationship between two men who live in a bloody, uncertain game.
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Here, we have a film that provides less of the explosive action that has so defined the genre and instead provides intricate investigations amid thrilling, vital hunts. George Smiley (Gary Oldman) is a retired MI6 agent that gets pulled back into the game, this time to conduct a mole hunt. During the dark uncertainty of the Cold War, Smiley knows only that a Russian operative has infiltrated MI6. This is a complex story, one with stakes that are high by nature, again, without the necessity of apocalyptic threats. Here is a world that is not nearly as glamorous as Bond would have you believe.
3 Days Of The Condor
Another Redford film, 3 Days Of The Condor is a thriller whose tension quickly builds. After stumbling into a workplace massacre, CIA codebreaker Joe Turner sets out on the run; he soon discovers that is own superiors at the CIA, beyond being responsible for the murders of his coworkers, are now hunting him. While action has made itself the marker of a Spy movie, the true aspect of this genre should center around a hunt for the truth - in this, 3 Days Of The Condor does not disappoint.
The Bourne Identity
The Bourne franchise tells the simple, yet alluring story of a man seeking to understand himself. The first in the franchise, Identity follows a Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) with total amnesia - he does not why he is being hunted by lethal assassins, no more than he can remember how he knows how to kill those same assassins.
A gritty, deeply personal story, Bourne is different than Bond on many counts; these differences prove elevating.
North By Northwest
The best part of this film, and the reason for its high ratings, is the very different take on the spy story it provides. By a mere accident, Roger O. Thornhill, an executive at an ad agency, is mistaken for a secret agent and is then hunted by the spy Phillip Vandam. Thornhill stumbles into plots, criminals, and secret agencies - often, unwittingly. It is an exciting perspective on a genre that can often feel homogeneous.
Munich
From famed director Steven Spielberg comes Munich, a shocking story based on horrifying true events. After the murder of 12 Israelis at the 1972 Summer Olympics, Israel’s version of the CIA (Mossad) approves a top-secret operation to track down and kill those responsible. Munich is a story of secrets, assassinations, and morality - it is deeply emotional and intense, in more than just the physical sense. Being so grounded in reality places this film on a far different level than any Bond film.
Mission Impossible: The Ghost Protocol
The fourth Mission Impossible movie offers a complex sea of deceit amid a web of lies. When Ethan Hunt is accused of a terrorist attack on the Kremlin and is subsequently disavowed by the CIA, he must go off the grid.
Yet, even while on the run and without the backing of his government or its resources, Hunt must still prevent another attack. In this mission, his only reinforcements are a group of ex-IMF agents whose true loyalties are murky at best. In the face of mistrust and lies, Hunt’s character remains true.
The Bourne Ultimatum
The third film in the franchise finds a Jason Bourne who has, at last, overcome his amnesia. Despite this, he still seeks answers about his shadowy past, as all has not yet been made clear. As the illegal Blackbriar project that turned Bourne into a hitman runs the risk of exposure, the officers in charge seek to bury the program forever - part of this involves severing all loose threads. The action is better than before, but the story remains true to itself - here is a man who seeks peace, truth, and understanding. The simplicity and continuity of this film make it far better than the average Bond flick.
Kingsman: The Secret Service
Kingsman succeeded in providing an astonishingly fresh breath of air to the spy movie genre. While it does take place in England, following besuited secret operatives, almost everything about the film is completely different than anything we have seen before. When Eggsy Unwin is selected to become a Kingsman trainee, his life finally seems to be looking up. But disaster strikes, in the form of Richmond Vallentine (Samuel L. Jackson), who seeks a solution to climate change, in the form of population control. Even this, though it is apocalyptic, is different than most - it is not a nuclear bomb Eggsy must stop, it is an app that unleashes human violence. A commentary on modern society, Kingsman is filled with creative twists on the classic story, each of them mixed with a generous helping of humor, sarcasm, and extreme gore. No Time To Die will be hard-pressed to provide a story with greater intrigue than Kingsman.
