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Best Spy Movies

by Pavan-3 created 04 Dec 2010 | last updated - 6 months ago

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1. The Bourne Identity (2002)

7.9/10

A man is picked up by a fishing boat, bullet-riddled and without

memory, then races to elude assassins and recover from
amnesia. (119 mins.)
Director: Doug Liman
Stars: Franka Potente, Matt Damon, C hris C ooper, C live Owen

Identity combined the genre's realism and fantasy, redefining

the espionage film. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! - Pavan-3

2. The Bourne Supremacy (2004)

7.7/10

When Jason Bourne is framed for a botched CIA operation he is

forced to take up his former life as a trained assassin to survive.
(108 mins.)
Director: Paul Greengrass
Stars: Matt Damon, Franka Potente, Joan Allen, Brian C ox

Supremacy shattered the Hollywood mould, reminding us of

what a spy thriller could be. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! - Pavan3

3. The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)

8.1/10

Jason Bourne dodges a ruthless CIA official and his agents from
a new assassination program while searching for the origins of
his life as a trained killer. (115 mins.)
Director: Paul Greengrass
Stars: Matt Damon, dgar Ramrez, Joan Allen, Julia Stiles

Ultimatum built the action to its obvious crescendo, putting a

good cap on the greatest spy series. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
- Pavan-3

4. Army of Shadows (1969)

8.1/10

France, 1942, during the occupation. Philippe Gerbier, a civil

engineer, is one of the French Resistance's chiefs...
Director: Jean-Pierre Melville
Stars: Lino Ventura, Paul Meurisse, Jean-Pierre C assel, Simone Signoret

Very rarely seen, auteur Melville creates a accurate and very

realistic depiction of espionage in WWII - clumsy assassinations,
bleak environments and a world where no-one can be trusted.
Unnerving and very worth the effort. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
- Pavan-3

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5. Munich (2005)
7.7/10

Based on the true story of the Black September aftermath,

about the five men chosen to eliminate the ones responsible for
that fateful day. (164 mins.)
Director: Steven Spielberg
Stars: Eric Bana, Daniel C raig, Marie-Jose C roze, C iarn Hinds

Spielberg weighs in with a thought-provoking film of realistic

spies. A haunting tale of true events, this bleak revisionist
thriller is a look at what is sometimes necessary and what we
escapists might forget. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! - Pavan-3

6. Three Days of the Condor (1975)

7.5/10

A bookish CIA researcher finds all his co-workers dead, and

must outwit those responsible until he figures out who he can
really trust. (117 mins.)
Director: Sydney Pollack
Stars: Robert Redford, Faye Dunaway, C liff Robertson, Max von Sydow

One of the best classic spy films - grim and gritty in its
portrayal of a government cover-up, it played a heavy
influence on the Bourne series. Redford and Dunaway are on
top form, while von Sydow steals the show as the bureaucratic
assassin. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! - Pavan-3

7. Mission: Impossible (1996)

7.0/10

An American agent, under false suspicion of disloyalty, must

discover and expose the real spy without the help of his
organization. (110 mins.)
Director: Brian De Palma
Stars: Tom C ruise, Jon Voight, Emmanuelle Bart, Henry C zerny

DePalma's first reminded us of classic Euro-spies at a time

when super-Bond was at his biggest - RECOMMENDED! Pavan-3

8. Mission: Impossible II (2000)

5.9/10

A secret agent is sent to Sydney, to find and destroy a

genetically modified disease called "Chimera" (123 mins.)
Director: John Woo
Stars: Tom C ruise, Dougray Scott, Thandie Newton, Ving Rhames

Woo's second adopted the super-spy syndrome, beating the

overblown Bond at his own game - RENT IT! - Pavan-3

9. Mission: Impossible III (2006)

6.8/10

Ethan Hunt comes face to face with a dangerous and sadistic

arms dealer while trying to keep his identity secret in order to
protect his girlfriend. (126 mins.)
Director: J.J. Abrams
Stars: Tom C ruise, Michelle Monaghan, Ving Rhames, Philip Seymour
Hoffman

Abrams' third reined things in, combining the best of classic

and modern for a pop-spy masterpiece - HIGHLY
RECOMMENDED! - Pavan-3

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011)

10.

7.4/10

The IMF is shut down when it's implicated in the bombing of the
Kremlin, causing Ethan Hunt and his new team to go rogue to
clear their organization's name. (133 mins.)
Director: Brad Bird
Stars: Tom C ruise, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, Paula Patton

Bird's fourth offered the first true sequel, its globethreatening plot heightening the adrenaline-filled action. HIGHLY
RECOMMENDED! - Pavan-3

11. Knight and Day (2010)

6.3/10

A story of a girl who gets mixed up with a spy trying to clear his
name. (109 mins.)
Director: James Mangold
Stars: Tom C ruise, C ameron Diaz, Peter Sarsgaard, Jordi Moll

12. Casino Royale (2006)

7.9/10

In his first mission, James Bond must stop Le Chiffre, a banker

to the world's terrorist organizations, from winning a high-stakes
poker tournament at Casino Royale in Montenegro. (144 mins.)
Director: Martin C ampbell
Stars: Daniel C raig, Eva Green, Judi Dench, Jeffrey Wright

The restart of the Bond franchise is a near-perfect adaptation

of the original novella, b*tch and all. Brutally charming, Craig
perfectly captures Fleming's rugged spy with a drinking
problem. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! - Pavan-3

13.

From Russia with Love (1963)

7.5/10

James Bond willingly falls into an assassination ploy involving a

naive Russian beauty in order to retrieve a Soviet encryption
device that was stolen by SPECTRE. (115 mins.)
Director: Terence Young
Stars: Sean C onnery, Robert Shaw, Lotte Lenya, Daniela Bianchi

14.

The Manchurian Candidate (1962)

8.1/10

A former Korean War POW is brainwashed by Communists into

becoming a political assassin. But another former prisoner may
know how to save him. (126 mins.)
Director: John Frankenheimer
Stars: Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey, Janet Leigh, Angela Lansbury

The classic banned film - John Frankenheimer's assured

direction and the cast's fantastic performances alone are
worth the price. The plot makes it priceless - perfect for our
bleak times. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! - Pavan-3

15.

Ronin (1998)
7.2/10

A freelancing former US intelligence agent tries to track down a

mysterious package that is wanted by both the Irish and the
Russians. (122 mins.)
Director: John Frankenheimer

Stars: Robert De Niro, Jean Reno, Natascha McElhone, Stellan Skarsgrd

Frankenheimer returns with a film of disavowed spies, set

apart by its brilliant car chases and a David Mamet script that
only falters in the third act. In true-to-life fashion, it's one of
the few films to ignore characterizing its 'deep-cover' agents.
RECOMMENDED! - Pavan-3