Spy Movies, Ranked

Tomas Alfredson's adaptation of John le Carré's novel earned three Academy Award nominations — including Best Actor for Gary Oldman as George Smiley — and won the BAFTA for Outstanding British Film, defining the slow-burn mole-hunt thriller.

Alfred Hitchcock's wrong-man chase built the blueprint later Bond films followed, with the iconic crop-duster and Mount Rushmore set pieces. Selected for the U.S. National Film Registry.

Daniel Craig's debut rebooted 007 as a raw, bleeding operative and holds a 94% on Rotten Tomatoes, widely credited with rescuing the franchise.

Paul Greengrass's handheld chase film won three Academy Awards (editing, sound mixing, sound editing) and reshaped the modern action-spy aesthetic.

Christopher McQuarrie's entry is the best-reviewed of the franchise at 97% on Rotten Tomatoes, with Tom Cruise performing a real HALO jump and helicopter chase.

Richard Burton stars in this bleak le Carré adaptation that deliberately rejected Bond's glamour; Burton earned an Oscar nomination for the role.

Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck's East German surveillance drama won the 2007 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

Steven Spielberg's dramatization of the post-Munich Olympics assassination squad received five Academy Award nominations including Best Picture.

Ben Affleck's dramatization of the CIA's Canadian Caper during the Iran hostage crisis won the Academy Award for Best Picture.

Sam Mendes's entry became the first Bond film to gross over $1 billion and won two Academy Awards, for Original Song and Sound Editing.

Spielberg's Cold War prisoner-swap drama earned Mark Rylance the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor as Soviet spy Rudolf Abel.

Matthew Vaughn's ultra-violent, tongue-in-cheek riff on gentleman-spy tropes was a surprise hit, grossing over $400 million worldwide.

James Cameron's action-comedy paired Arnold Schwarzenegger with Jamie Lee Curtis, who won a Golden Globe, and was among the most expensive films of its era.

Guy Ritchie's slick Cold War caper, based on the 1960s TV series, pairs Henry Cavill and Armie Hammer with retro flair that earned a cult following.

Mike Myers's parody of 1960s spy cinema spawned a franchise, though its groovy gags land more as comedy than espionage.

Angelina Jolie plays a CIA officer accused of being a Russian sleeper agent; a competent action vehicle originally written for a male lead.

Jennifer Lawrence stars as a Russian intelligence 'sparrow,' a lavish but coldly received thriller that drew mixed reviews around 47% on Rotten Tomatoes.

This fifth attempt to launch a Jack Ryan franchise with Chris Pine underperformed at the box office and received tepid reviews, ending the film series.

Vin Diesel's attempt to reinvent the spy as an extreme-sports rebel leans on stunts over espionage, a loud early-2000s time capsule.

Despite Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie, this Venice-set thriller was critically panned (around 20% on Rotten Tomatoes) and drew Razzie-adjacent Golden Globe mockery.